What are anti-satellite weapons that the US sees as a “threat” from Russia?

An alleged threat to national security has shaken Washington in recent hours. According to the Administration of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, Russia He would be designing new weapons to shoot down foreign satellites in space.

This information, which arose from a leak from Congress, has generated all kinds of speculation, but what is known and what does anti-satellite technology consist of?

What is known so far?

The commotion began when on Wednesday the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Mike Turner, published an enigmatic message about a “serious threat” to national security that all members of Congress have to be aware of.

The spokesman for the National Security Council of the White HouseJohn Kirby, confirmed this Thursday that the alleged threat is “an anti-satellite technology that Russia is developing,” but did not clarify whether it is a type of weapon that includes nuclear capacity, something that some media had reported.

“We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or to cause physical destruction here on Earth,” he said.

What types of anti-satellite weapons are there?

Anti-satellite weapons are space weapons designed to disable or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes.

In general, these types of weapons are divided into two types: those that physically collide with other satellites to destroy them and those that use other types of weapons. technology to neutralize them, such as cyber attacks or lasers.

What do international treaties say?

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which was ratified by the Soviet Union and of which Russia is part, prohibits placing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the orbit of the Earth, on the Moon or on any other celestial body.

However, the treaty does not impose restrictions on the deployment or development of conventional weapons in space.

When did they start to develop?

The first anti-satellite weapon was developed precisely by the United States in the midst of the space race with the Soviet Union, after Moscow put Sputnik 1, the Earth’s first artificial satellite, into orbit in 1957.

The US Air Force then designed the Bold Orion, a ballistic missile that was successfully tested in 1959, when it was launched from an airplane and managed to shoot down a small satellite of the POT.

The Soviets later developed a co-orbital system capable of approaching satellites and exploding a warhead with shrapnel close enough to shoot down its target.

How has this technology evolved?

In recent years, some powers have accelerated military activities in space.

China, which entered the race in 2007 by destroying an old weather satellite with a ballistic missile, tested a FOBS missile system in 2021, which allows a nuclear warhead to be fired into low Earth orbit.

That same year, Russia launched a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile to destroy one of its satellites, an operation that USA He described it as “irresponsible” because it left 1,500 pieces of debris that made work on the International Space Station difficult.

In 2022, the US government pledged to stop testing anti-satellite missiles and called for establishing international standards for “responsible behavior” in space.

What happens to the debris?

One of the great concerns of the scientific community is the space debris generated by the destruction of satellites, because thousands of fragments remain orbiting around the Earth. Land and endanger future space missions.

What has Russia said about it?

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov accused the United States of “making up malicious stories” about Russia when asked by the state agency TASS about Moscow’s alleged anti-satellite plans.

“We have told them time and time again that unfounded accusations of any kind will not get any reaction from us. “If they make some claims, they should at least present evidence,” Ryabkov added.