spacetoday.net: India tests anti-satellite weapon

Posted: Sat, Mar 30, 2019, 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT)
India announced Wednesday that it successfully tested an anti-satellite weapon, destroying one of its own satellites. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised speech, said that the country demonstrated the ability to destroy satellites, a move he claimed shows the country "stands tall as a space power." According to the Indian government, the "Mission Shakti" used a ballistic missile interceptor to hit an unidentified satellite in a low orbit. The test "was fully successful," the government declared. The targeted satellite is believed to be Microsat-R, in an orbit less than 300 kilometers high, which would minimize, but not necessarily eliminate, the amount of long-lived debris. The test will likely renew existing debates about space security and concerns about the creating of orbital debris.