Russia shot down its own satellite, the fragments threatened the astronauts. NASA chief: Unthinkable

The Russian anti-satellite weapons test (ASAT) has been confirmed by the Moscow State Department, so far there is no such confirmation, or even any direct comment. The target of the test could be the old spy satellite, Kosmos-1408, the BBC reports, citing a company that tracks space debris. LeoLabs was supposed to detect a large number of objects in the place where the satellite should be.

Russia has shot down its own satellite. The astronauts fled to the escape capsules

The incident forced seven astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station to put on suits and take refuge in escape capsules. This is the function of the ships that people reach and wait for “parked” at the station, ready to evacuate its inhabitants if necessary. Three representatives – Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron – and the German Matthias Maurer sent into orbit by the European Space Agency took refuge in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. Two Russians – Anton Szkaplerow and Piotr Dubrow and Mark Vande Hei from NASA – in Soyuz.

We write about the events in the field of technology, important for global politics, on

On Monday afternoon, the Russian space agency Roscosmos posted a short message on Twitter. “The crew of the Space Station routinely performs operations according to the flight program. The orbit of the object, which forced the crew to transfer to the spacecraft today in accordance with standard procedures, has moved away from the orbit of the ISS. The station is in the green zone” – it was written without adding about what the object is about.

USA outraged. NASA chief writes about “irresponsible and destabilizing action”

A little later, there was a conference by the spokesman of the US Department of State. “Today, the Russian Federation has recklessly conducted a destructive satellite test of an anti-satellite launch rocket against one of its own satellites. So far, the test has generated more than 1,500 pieces of traceable orbital debris and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris that now threaten the interests of all nations,” read the Ned Price release. .

Later, answering questions from journalists, he said that the United States would not tolerate this kind of activity.

The head of NASA wrote that he was “outraged by this irresponsible and destabilizing action.” “The debris generated by the dangerous Russian ASAT test led astronauts and cosmonauts at the ISS to carry out emergency procedures for safety. It is inconceivable that Russia would pose a threat not only to international partners, astronauts at the ISS, but also its own cosmonauts,” he said in a statement .

According to him, the risk to astronauts is now four times greater than usual – and only when you consider the larger remnants of a crashed satellite. Meanwhile, the smaller, undetectable ones, too, can cause serious damage if they “hit the right spot,” Nelson told the Associated Press.

, orbits about 400 kilometers above the Earth. Passes through or past the debris cloud every 90 minutes. The ISS crew hid in capsules for only two such passes. NASA will monitor the situation.

US authorities and military representatives emphasize that the threat posed by the Russia test will be felt even for years. Collisions of debris moving in orbit may cause a chain reaction and threaten satellites, including military satellites, of various countries. This will require careful monitoring and avoidance maneuvers. These types of tests are rare, but always arouse great emotions. Last year, it was supposed to conduct three of them.