After NASA's stinker on Mission Shakti, India's 'gone in 45 days' assurance for space debris: Report

Day after NASA branded India’s highly successful ‘Mission Shakti’ as a ‘terrible thing’, a DRDO official has reportedly said that the space debris created after the A-SAT launch will disappear in next 45 days. According to a report by The Hindustan Times, the DRDO official also talked about space debris created by the Chinese missions.  “The test was calibrated keeping in mind the debris issue. The world should know that debris from two Chinese tests is still floating whereas those created by the Indian test will disappear,” the officials was quoted as saying by the HT. It should be noted that there has been no official response either from the DRDO or the Government of India over the debris issue.

Yesterday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said about 60 pieces have been tracked so far and out of which 24 are going above the apogee of the ISS. "What we are tracking right now, objects big enough to track -- we're talking about 10 centimeters (six inches) or bigger -- about 60 pieces have been tracked." The Indian satellite was destroyed at a relatively low altitude of 180 miles (300 kilometers), well below the ISS and most satellites in orbit.

But 24 of the pieces "are going above the apogee of the International Space Station," said Bridenstine.

"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 collision risk for the ISS and for satellites.

Meanwhile, Robert Palladino, US State Department spokesperson said, “As we’ve said previously, we have a strong strategic partnership with India, and we will continue to pursue shared interests in space, in scientific and technical cooperation, that includes collaboration on safety and security in space.” On NASA’s comment on Mission Shakti, Palladino said, “Now, the issue of space debris, that's an important concern for United States, and I would say that we took note of Indian government’s statements that the test was designed to address space debris issues.”