The NASA on Tuesday termed as a “terrible thing” India’s shooting down of one of its satellites that has created about 400 pieces of orbital debris, endangering the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said about 60 pieces havebeen tracked so far and out of which 24 are going above the apogee of the ISS.
“That is a terrible, terrible thing to create an eventthat sends debris and an apogee that goes above the international spacestation. That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of humanspaceflight that we need to see have happen,” he said at a NASA townhallhere.
“The ASAT test by India last week has resulted in about400 pieces of orbital debris,” he added.
Bridenstine said not all of the pieces were big enough totrack and the NASA is right now tracking objects which are 10 centimeters orbigger.
“Some 60 pieces of orbital debris have been tracked sofar, 24 out of which poses risk to the International Space Station,” hesaid.
Bridenstine was addressing employees of the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi,in a televised address, announced that India shot down a satellite in spacewith a missile, catapulting the country into an elite club of space powersalongside the US, Russia and China
Bridenstine is the first top official from the Trumpadministration to come out in public against the India’s ASAT test.
“We are charged with commercialising of low earthorbit. We are charged with enabling more activities in space than we’ve everseen before for the purpose of benefiting the human condition, whether it’spharmaceuticals or printing human organs in 3D to save lives here on earth ormanufacturing capabilities in space that you’re not able to do in a gravitywell,” he said.
“All of those are placed at risk when these kinds ofevents happen,” Bridenstine said as he feared India’s ASAT test could riskproliferation of such activities by other countries.
“When one country does it, other countries feel likethey have to do it as well,” he said.
“It’s unacceptable. The NASA needs to be very clearabout what its impact to us is,” the NASA Administrator said.
He said the NASA is “learning more and more everyhour” that goes by about this orbital debris field that has been createdfrom the anti-satellite test.
“Where we were last week with an assessment that comesfrom NASA experts as well as the Joint Space Operations Center (part of USStrategic Command).. is that the risk to the International Space Station hasincreased by 44 per cent,” Bridenstine said.
The risk from small debris as a result of the ASAT test tothe ISS went up 44 per cent over a period of 10 days. “So, the good thingis it’s low enough in earth orbit that over time this will all dissipate,”he told his NASA colleagues.
He said a lot of debris from the 2007 direct ascentanti-satellite test by China is still in the space.
“And we’re still dealing with it. We are still, we as anation are responsible for doing space situational awareness and space trafficmanagement, conjunction analysis for the entire world,” Bridenstine said.
The US, he said, is doing it for free with the its taxpayersmoney from an orbital debris field that was created by another country.
“Why do we do that as a nation? Because it’s the rightthing to do because we want to preserve the space environment,” he said.
According to Bridenstine, the US is currently tracking about23,000 pieces of orbital debris that are 10 centimeters or bigger.
“At the end of the day we need to be clear witheverybody in the world, we’re the only agency in the federal government thathas human lives at stake here. And it is not acceptable for us to allow peopleto create orbital debris fields that put at risk our people,” he said.
Bridenstine said while the risk of the ISS went up 44 per cent,the astronauts are still safe.
“The International Space Station is still safe. If weneed to manoeuvre it, we will. The probability of that I think is low. But atthe end of the day we have to be clear also that these activities are notsustainable or compatible with human spaceflight,” he said.