Indian ASAT Test Raises Space Risks

摘要

India's successful March 27 test of a weapon designed to destroy satellites has raised concerns that the resulting debris field may threaten orbiting space objects and that other states will develop similar weapons. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that New Delhi had successfully used a ballistic missile interceptor to destroy an orbiting satellite, becoming just the fourth country after China, Russia, and the United States to test such anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons. India launched the target satellite into low orbit in January, and the interceptor, developed as part of India's ballistic missile defense system by the Defense Research and Development Organization, was launched from the Abdul Kalam Island launch center. India may have attempted an earlier test on Feb. 12, but that effort appears to have been unsuccessful. Modi called the test a "historic feat" and said that the country is now "an established space power." Modi said that India continues to maintain that "space should not be an area for warfare and that remains unchanged" despite the successful test. He described the test as defensive and said it was not targeted at any particular country.