India claims it has demonstrated the capability of destroying satellites in orbit by shooting down one of its own satellites with a missile launched from Earth, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced this morning. The test seemingly proves that India has mastered what is known as anti-satellite, or ASAT, technology. But experts argue that such actions are concerning, as they can create hundreds to thousands of pieces of debris in space.
India acknowledged back in 2012 that it had the “building blocks” for ASAT technology, and it has since tested ballistic missiles that have that capability. However, this most recent test is the first time that India actually intercepted a satellite with one of its missiles. “India has…
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