India has successfully test-fired a missilethat destroyed a low-orbit satellite in space.Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the test Wednesdayin a nationally televised speech.He said the development marked a major step forwardin the nation's efforts to become a world power in space technology."Our scientists shot down a live satellite300 kilometers away in space, in low-earth orbit,"Modi announced, speaking in Hindi.He added that through the test,India had "registered its name as a space power."Satellites collect valuable information and carry outimportant communication activities during modern warfare.Anti-satellite weapons permit enemies to attack the equipment.The same technology can also be usedto develop weapons to block incoming missiles.Modi said the test was not designed to create"an atmosphere of war" with any of its neighbors."I want to assure the world communitythat the new capability is not against anyone.This is to secure and defend fast-growing India," he said.India's foreign ministry said the anti-satellite systemwas meant to protect against possible threatsagainst the country's "growing space-based assets."In addition, the technology would helpguard against possible missile attacks, the statement said.Very few countries have used such weapons.India became just the fourth nation to do so,following the United States, China and Russia.Such abilities have made some countries fearthat anti-satellite technology could fuel the developmentof new space weapons, security experts say.This could set off a race between competing nations.After India's announcement, China's foreign ministry saidit hoped all countries would seek to continually"protect lasting peace and tranquility in space."In the U.S., acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahanwarned that such tests risk leaving a "mess" in spacefrom the pieces they leave behind."My message would be: We all live in space,let's not make it a mess," Shanahan said."Space should be a place where we can conduct business.Space is a place where people should have the freedom to operate."Anti-satellite weapons that break up their targetscan send many pieces flying through space.Experts say these pieces, also called debris,could threaten satellites or spacecraft in Earth's orbit.India's foreign ministry said after its missile testthat officials believed there was little risk ofmajor debris created that could hit other objects.It said this was because the test happened in low-Earth orbitand the pieces were expected to "decayand fall back on to the Earth within weeks."A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense saidthe military's Strategic Command was trackingmore than 250 pieces of debrisfrom India's missile test and would continue to do so.India has at times experienced tense relationswith its neighbor to the north, Pakistan.Both nations are nuclear-armed powers.In February, 40 Indian soldiers were killedin a suicide bombing in Kashmir,a disputed area claimed by both India and Pakistan.Later, India reported it had answered the bombingwith a "surgical strike" on a terrorist camp in Pakistan.Pakistan's foreign ministry reacted toIndia's anti-satellite test in a statement."Space is the common heritage of mankindand every nation has the responsibility to avoid actionswhich can lead to the militarization of this arena," the statement said.Modi's announcement came just two weeks before a general election.Some opposition politicians accused Modiof trying to earn political favorby announcing the test on national television.