NASA chief calls Indian anti-satellite missile test "terrible, terrible"

NASA's director, administrator Jim Bridenstine, called a recent Indian anti-satellite missile test, which destroyed a satellite in low Earth orbit and projected 400 debris into space, a "terrible thing" ".

"This type of activity is not compatible with the future of manned spaceflight," said Bridenstine, speaking at a live meeting of NASA employees, organized at Town Hall. "This is unacceptable and NASA must be very clear about its impact on us."

India announced that it had successfully carried out on March 27 "Shakti Mission", an anti-satellite missile test aimed at destroying one of the country's satellites. The success of the mission has made India only the fourth country to carry out such a test, following previous tests conducted by the United States, Russia and China.

In the official press release, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the test had been carried out in the "lower atmosphere" to ensure that there was no space debris and that even if debris was generated, they would fall on Earth in a few weeks – debris field can still be dangerous.

"In my opinion, the claims that such destructive events are acceptable, because the fragments will soon be incinerated are deliberately misleading," says Alice Gorman, Australian space archaeologist and debris specialist. "Any fragmentation event, intentional or accidental, increases the risk of collision with operating satellites."

At the NASA meeting, Bridenstine said that the satellite destruction of India had created more than 400 pieces of debris and that NASA was currently tracking 60. A subset of these actually tipped into an orbit above the ISS, potentially putting the station and astronauts indoors at risk if it were to collide with the station.

"The risk for the International Space Station has been increased by 44%," said Bridenstine.

In particular, the station has emergency procedures, if NASA were to locate unwanted waste directly to the space base. In general, team members jump into the "lifeboats" of the station: the capsules that allow them to get to and from the Earth. If the station was hit, they could be dropped. Fortunately, while the astronauts on board have already taken refuge in the capsule, they have never been evacuated.

With regard to the recent destruction of satellites, it is unlikely that such a scenario will occur.

"The good thing is that it's low enough that the Earth's orbit disappears over time," said Bridenstine, opposing the incident to a 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test that created a debris field that still bypasses the Earth.

Several companies have been working on ways to reduce the field of potentially dangerous space debris that accumulates around the Earth, including using a harpoon to stab to junk food from the space or a net to capture as a Spider-Man space. The concern is that, as the low Earth orbit fills with junks, a cascade of unstoppable destruction could occur if debris struck the wrong satellite. The so-called "Kessler syndrome" would see satellites and space infrastructures constantly torn apart by a wave of debris.

While nations are free to destroy their own resources in space, deliberately creating a debris field is simply a demonstration of power, designed to show other nations their satellite-destroying capabilities. Gorman says "there is no good scientific reason for such tests to take place".

"They are purely and simply a visible demonstration of power," she says.

The good news is that for the moment, Bridenstine says there is little danger for the station and the astronauts inside.

"While the risk has increased by 44%, our astronauts are still safe, but the International Space Station is safe," said Bridenstine. If the ISS were to encounter problems, it could be maneuvered to avoid potential collisions.

"Ultimately, we must also make it clear that these activities are neither sustainable nor compatible with manned spaceflight."