A scientist with the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) has countered the National Aeronautics & Space Administration’s (Nasa’s) claim that the effects of Mission Shakti will produce debris in space. The effects of anti-satellite (A-sat) missile will burn out in six months, Tapan Misra, a senior adviser to the ISRO chairman, said.

This comes after NASA administrator Jim Brindenstine had claimed that Mission Shakti resulted in the creation of 400 pieces of space debris that are posing a threat to the International Space Station.

India recently demonstrated its capabilities of destroying a low orbit satellite using an A-sat missile system and became the fourth nation in the world to do that. It was called Mission Shakti.

In response to Brindenstine’s charge, Misra said that the missile destroyed the satellite at about 300 km in space where the wind pressure is low and the debris will be burned out in a span of six months.

Misra claimed that the A-sat experiment carried out by Defence Research & Development Organization was “not an explosion,” but was more like a bullet. He also added that “much of the existing space debris is already being tracked by different countries via a network of telescopes, cameras and radars. They are cooperating with each other. If you see space debris in a collision course, you can always change the course of the satellite.”

“The existing space debris was already large and different countries were monitoring it through a network of radars, cameras and telescopes. They are cooperating with each other… If you see space debris in a collision course, you can always change the course of the satellite,” Misra said.