Orbits Of Debris

Space waste threatens the existence of all satellites

- S S Jeevan

AN UNANTICIPATED reaction to India’s first anti-satellite missile experiment on March 27—when the country successfully targeted its own decommissioned satellite—came from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Operation Shakti had created thousands of pieces of space debris, said Jim Bridenstine, an administrator with NASA (see ‘Littered backyard’).