In the end of March 2019, India became the fourth country to demonstrate the capability to shoot down an orbiting satellite, joining the United States, Russia, and China.
The satellite they shot down was one of their own, roughly 185 miles in space. Simulations suggest over 6,500 pieces of debris larger than a pencil eraser were created.
NASA has the capability to track pieces of debris greater than 10cm. Sixty pieces of the destroyed satellite are large enough to be tracked and of these, 24 were blasted to a distance from Earth greater than the International Space Station (ISS). NASA’s concern is that these pieces might collide with the ISS, putting the astronauts on board at risk.
"That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight,” says NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
