Nasa says International Space Station astronauts are endangered after India blows up satellite

Debris thrown across space is a 'terrible, terrible thing', says administrator

Nasa says that India's decision to test a weapon by destroying a satellite has put astronauts on board the International Space Station in danger.

Last week, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced that the country had successfully destroyed a satellite in space. He said it made India a "space power", and the technology is only available to a few countries in the world.

But Nasa says the debris strewn across space by the explosion could endanger the people currently living above the Earth.

The risk of collision to the ISS was increased by 44% over a period of 10 days, the American space agency's administrator Jim Bridenstine warned staff on Monday, after identifying 400 different pieces of orbital debris from the event.

"It's unacceptable and Nasa needs to be very clear about what its impact to us is," Mr Bridenstine said.

"Intentionally creating orbital debris fields is not compatible with human space flight."

Nasa is now tracking around 60 pieces that are 10 centimetres or bigger, with 24 that have gone above the apogee of the ISS, which Mr Bridenstine described as a "terrible, terrible thing".

"We need to be clear with everybody in the world, we're the only agency in the federal government that has human lives at stake here," he explained.

"And it is not acceptable for us to allow people to create orbital debris fields that put at risk our people."

India's ministry of external affairs insists that the risk from Mission Shakti is low, saying: "The test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris.

"Whatever debris that is generated will decay and fall back onto the earth within weeks."

Mr Bridenstine admitted this was true, adding: "It's low enough in Earth orbit that over time this will all dissipate."

India is the fourth country to have demonstrated anti-satellite weapons (Asat), after the US, Russia and China.

Additional reporting by agencies