Russian anti-satellite missile put astronauts at risk, US says

Russia tested an anti-satellite missile on Monday in a “destructive” move that generated debris that put astronauts on the International Space Station at risk, the US state department said.

In a statement released on Monday afternoon, department spokesperson Nate Price said Russia had earlier in the day “recklessly conducted a destructive satellite test of a direct ascent and anti-satellite missile against one of its own satellites”.

Price said the test had generated more than 1,500 pieces of “traceable orbital debris and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris” that threatened people working at the International Space Station and “other human space flight activities”.

“Russia’s dangerous and irresponsible behaviour jeopardises the long-term sustainability of outer space and clearly demonstrates that Russia’s claims of opposing the weaponisation of space are disingenuous and hypocritical,” he said, adding the US would work with allies and partners to respond.

US Army general James Dickinson, head of the US Space Command, added: “Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations. The debris created by Russia’s DA-ASAT will continue to pose a threat to activities in outer space for years to come.”

The test comes amid rising tensions between the US and Russia after Washington last week publicly warned Moscow against invading Ukraine, where officials have become alarmed by the build-up of up to 114,000 Russian troops on its borders.

This is not the first time states have tested missiles on satellites. During the cold war, the US and Russia designed and tested anti-satellite weapons. Such missiles could theoretically shoot down enemy satellites that control intelligence and communications and threaten to turn space into a war zone.

More recently, China and India have also tested aspects of anti-satellite systems. In 2007 China drew international condemnation when it blew up one of its own failed satellites, creating more than 35,000 pieces of debris. A recent Rand Corporation report described the event as “the largest debris-generating incident to date”.

Governments are increasingly concerned about the problem of space debris, since fragments as small as a fingernail are capable of inflicting great damage to orbiting spacecraft. Currently there are almost 30,000 orbiting objects that are regularly tracked, but up to 1m more are too small to be followed.

Many in the space industry are publicly calling for international collaboration on new rules to govern behaviour in space as the world launches a record number of satellites into low earth orbit. Falling launch costs and cheaper satellites have made it possible for private companies to develop commercial space-based businesses such as satellite broadband or earth observation.

But with SpaceX alone hoping to launch more than 40,000 satellites, closely followed by Amazon and dozens of others, many in the industry are increasingly concerned about the risks of collisions creating more debris that could threaten the sustainability of space.

The “Kessler syndrome” model outlines a catastrophe scenario where debris from one collision sets off a chain reaction of collisions, ultimately closing off safe access to space.

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics who tracks activity in space, said on Twitter: “I condemned the 2007 Chinese test, the 2008 US test, the 2019 Indian test, and I equally condemn this one. Debris-generating anti-satellite tests are a bad idea and should never be carried out.”

Mike Rogers, the most senior Republican congressman on the US House of Representatives armed services committee, called the reports of Russia’s test “concerning” and said such events were “exactly why we stood up Space Command and created the Space Force”.

“Space has already become a warfighting domain,” he said. “The Biden administration must back rapid defence modernisation with a focus on space. I am afraid that this test, like the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test, will impact space for many years to come.”