Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that India has become the fourth country in the world to become a space superpower capable of taking out an enemy satellite in space, the US expressed concern over the issue of space debris.

According to a report in Reuters, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned any nations contemplating anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons tests like the one India carried out on Wednesday that they risk making a “mess” in space because of debris fields they can leave behind.

Advertisement

Shanahan said the United States was still studying the outcome of a missile India said it launched at one of its own satellites.

The US military’s Strategic Command was tracking more than 250 pieces of debris from India’s missile test and would issue “close-approach notifications as required until the debris enters the Earth’s atmosphere,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said.

In the Mission Shakti operation, the indigenously-built anti-satellite ASAT missile successfully destroyed a target satellite in the Low Earth Orbit (LWO), the PM announced.

Though the message was clear to all of India’s adversaries, the PM assured the global community that the technology will not be used “against anyone”.

“This (technology) is to strengthen the defence of a fast-growing India. This test does not violate any international law or treaty. We are against arms race in space,” the PM stressed.

“Our objective is to ensure the security of the 130 crore people of our country. Thus a powerful India is necessary for peace. We do not intend to create an atmosphere of war,” he added.

The Ministry of External Affairs in its statement said that India’s space capabilities do not threaten any country nor are they directed against anyone.

Reiterating PM Modi’s words, the MEA said the government was committed to ensuring the country’s national security interests and is alert to threats from emerging technologies.

The Ministry of External Affairs also said the test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure there is no space debris.

The MEA has also come out with a 10-point explainer to say the anti-satellite missile test was carried out to verify India’s capability to safeguard space assets and that it was not directed against any country.

The state department saw PM Modi’s statement that announced India’s anti-satellite (ASAT) test, a State Department spokesperson told PTI Wednesday.

To a question, the spokesperson also said that as part of “our strong strategic partnership with India, we will continue to pursue shared interests in space and scientific and technical cooperation, including collaboration on safety and security in space.

However, the spokesperson expressed concern over the issue of space debris.

“The issue of space debris is an important concern for the US government. We took note of Indian government statements that the test was designed to address space debris issues,” the spokesperson said.

(With agency inputs)