Russian officials “recklessly conducted” an anti-satellite weapon test, endangering the International Space Station and underscoring international misgivings about the militarization of outer space, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s team.
“The test has, so far, generated over 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,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “Russia’s dangerous and irresponsible behavior jeopardizes the long-term sustainability of outer space and clearly demonstrates that Russia’s claims of opposing the weaponization of space are disingenuous and hypocritical.”
Price described the weapon as a “direct-ascent anti-satellite missile.” The test represents a repeat of a Chinese operation in 2007 that sent a shiver through military and space-faring entities around the world, as Beijing’s downing of a defunct satellite created a debris field that threatened operable space technology while sending a signal that China would attack satellites in the event of a major conflict with the United States.
“It was an ASAT test by the Russians on an old Soviet satellite,” a former U.S. official with space policy expertise told the Washington Examiner. “Both U.S. and Russian ground control told members of the ISS to get inside because of dangerous debris. Leave it to the Russians.”
Russia’s space agency downplayed the significance of the debris on Monday. “The orbit of the object due to which the crew had to move to the spaceship as per routine procedure, has moved away from the orbit of the ISS,” a Roscosmos press release said, according to a Russian state media translation. “The station is in the green zone.”
The International Space Station, launched in 1999 as a major research enterprise and a symbol of unity between the two powers that conducted the space race during the Cold War, long has been home to American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. Price underscored the recklessness of the Russian operation by citing the threat posed to the Russian space-farers.
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“This test will significantly increase the risk to astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station, as well as to other human spaceflight activities,” he said.
Price’s rebuke amplified the misgivings felt throughout the Western space industry as word of the Russian test filtered out. “If so, it’s really bad,” one space industry official said.
