U.S. warns nations launching ASAT weapons to 'not make a mess'

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned any nations who might be considering anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons tests like the one India carried out on Wednesday to "not make a mess" in space, noting the debris that can be left behind. "My message would be: we all live in space, let's not make it a mess. Space should be a place where we can conduct business. Space is a place where people should have the freedom to operate," Shanahan told a small group of reporters on Wednesday, without saying whether he believed India's test left debris.

He said the United States was still studying the Indian test. "You cannot make (space) unstable. We cannot create the debris problem that ASAT tests create. So, thoughtfulness goes a long way."