--- title: "Debris From the Satellite India Blew Up Still Polluting Orbit" description: "Debris created by India's anti-satellite test are still circling the Earth four months later, putting spacecraft and other satellites in danger." date: "2019-08-09" modified: "2019-08-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/satellite-india-blew-up-polluting-orbit" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "india" - "satellite" - "space debris" - "the digest" --- # Debris From the Satellite India Blew Up Still Polluting Orbit ![Debris created by India's anti-satellite test are still circling the Earth four months later, putting spacecraft and other satellites in danger.]() *\Image: David James Paquin/Victor Tangermann\* ## Anti-Satellite In March, India [shot down]() a satellite with a missile. “India is now a major space power,” declared Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the time, according to [local news](). But the event was an environmental catastrophe: debris created by the space explosion are still whipping around the Earth at thousands of miles per hour, putting spacecraft and other satellites in danger, [according to *The Verge*]() — a four full months after the anti-missile test. “Based on the current decay rates of some of these higher orbit objects, I think there will be at least some debris up for another year,” U.S. Air Force public affairs officer Cody Chiles told *The Verge*. “But probably not for two years.” ## A Growing Problem In June, astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics were [still tracking]() some 41 debris objects out of 400 originally identified. They add even more debris to an already [very polluted]() Earth orbit. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine [said]() back in April that some 24 pieces at the same altitude at the International Space Station's 250 miles posed an "unacceptable threat" to astronauts. "That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight.” **READ MORE:** [More than 50 pieces of debris remain in space after India destroyed its own satellite in March]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on the anti-satellite test:** *[Dangerous Debris From India’s Exploded Satellite Still Orbiting Earth]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()