A terrible thing ‘: NASA Says India’s Threat To ISS Threatens To Destroy Satellite
Mumbai: NASA chief labelled India for destruction one of its satellites as “a terrible thing”, which created 400 pieces of orbital debris and caused new threats to astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Jim Brideenstein addressed the staff of National Aeronautics and Space Administration India’s five-day satellite in a missile test to prove that it is one of the world’s advanced space powers.
All pieces were not enough to track, Brideenstein explained. “The track we are tracking now is enough to track things – we’re talking about 10 centimetres (six inches) or larger – about 60 pieces are tracked.”
Indian satellite was destroyed at a relatively low altitude of 180 miles (300 km), which was just below the ISS and most satellites in the orbit.
But 24 of the pieces are going up the “Apogee of the International Space Station,” said Bridenstein.
“That is a terrible, terrible thing to create an event that sends debris at an apogee that goes above the International Space Station,” he continued, adding: “That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight.”
“It’s unacceptable and NASA needs to be very clear about what its impact to us is.”
The US military tracks objects in space to predict the risk of collision for ISS and satellites.
They are currently tracking 23,000 items which are more than 10 centimetres.
There are about 10,000 pieces of space debris in it, of which approximately 3,000 were created by the same event: a Chinese anti-satellite test in 2007 at a distance of 530 miles from the surface.
As a result of Indian testing, the risk of collision with ISS has increased by 44 per cent in 10 days, Bidenstein said.
(With PTI Inputs)
