India declines to comment on NASA’s criticism of anti-satellite weapon

3 Apr, 2019 15:14 / Updated 6 years ago

India on Wednesday declined to comment on a statement by a US space official that New Delhi’s recent test of an anti-satellite weapon created debris that could threaten the International Space Station (ISS). India’s Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Aman Anand said there was no official response to NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine’s statement in Washington on Monday. Bridenstine said that in shooting down one of its own satellites with a rocket last week, India had left debris high enough in orbit to pose a risk to the ISS, AP reported. After the March 27 test, India’s External Affairs Ministry said that whatever debris generated would decay and fall back to Earth within weeks as the test was in the lower atmosphere.