The United States has announced a new ban on the use of direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday.
Harris, who made the announcement during a speech in front of the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, said the Biden administration is hoping this move will establish “a new international norm for responsible behavior in space” as it calls on others to do the same, according to a statement from the White House.
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ASAT tests occur when a missile is launched from Earth or an aircraft at high altitude with the goal of blowing up a satellite.
“The destruction of space objects through direct-ascent ASAT missile testing is reckless and irresponsible,” the statement read. “The long-lived debris created by these tests now threaten satellites and other space objects that are vital to all nations’ security, economic, and scientific interests, and increases risk to astronauts in space. Overall, these tests jeopardize the long-term sustainability of outer space and imperil the exploration and use of space by all nations.”
The White House’s fact sheet on the ban also references Russia’s November 2021 test and the one that China conducted in 2007.
The Russian military “recklessly conducted” a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test, which successfully hit a Russian satellite that had been in orbit for nearly 40 years, State Department spokesman Ned Price said days later, adding it sent more than “1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris, and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris that now threaten the interests of all nations,” according to Price, who also said the debris posed a threat to the International Space Station.
The House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican, Mike Rogers, blasted the decision in a statement.
“This unilateral decision mistakes activity for achievement,” he said. “It does nothing to deter our adversaries in an escalating warfighting domain. In fact, I’m worried it will have the opposite effect. Both the Russians and the CCP have demonstrated their anti-satellite capabilities — it would be naive to think they don’t intend to use them against our assets.”
Last week, the Defense Intelligence Agency released a new report, titled Challenges to Security in Space — 2022, that explained Russia and China’s goals to “exploit the perceived U.S. reliance on space-based systems,” a readout from the agency read.
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“The combination of increasing counterspace capabilities — especially those of China and Russia — a general growth in numbers of space objects, and the proliferation of requirements for space-enabled services will make space an increasingly competitive and crowded environment for the foreseeable future,” the report read. “As the number of spacefaring nations grows and space and counterspace capabilities become more integrated into military operations, the U.S space posture will be increasingly challenged and on orbit assets will face new risks.”
The Biden administration released its next defense budget proposal last month, and if passed, the legislation would provide the Space Force with $24.5 billion for next year, which represents approximately a 40% increase from last year’s request.
