Russia on Wednesday conducted an anti-satellite missile test, describing it as an example of the threats the United States faces in space, in the context of the world's major military powers racing to develop their capabilities in space, the US military said.
"The United States is ready and committed to deterring aggression and defending our country and our allies, and from American interests in the face of hostilities in space," the commander of the US Space Command, General John Raymond, said in a statement.
Analysts expected the test to be the new Russian anti-satellite Nodol missile system, and they added that the missile launch took place from the "Plesetsk Cosmodrome" region, located eight hundred kilometers north of Moscow.
The United Nations seeks to prevent an arms race in outer space as required by the common interest of all mankind, if ... http://t.co/DD6ZcZQj - The United Nations (@UNarabic) January 9, 2013 |
An existing danger
Experts say that anti-satellite weapons that destroy targets pose a threat to space, as they create a pile of fragments that can collide with other things, and possibly launch a series of explosions across the Earth's orbit.
The Russian missile test comes at a time when US officials say that space is becoming an increasingly important area of conflict, with the United States and other countries - such as Russia and China - strengthening their military position in near-Earth orbit and near the moon.
The United States and China have recently conducted anti-satellite missile tests.
Last March, India conducted the most recent anti-satellite missile test, targeting a moon in orbit close to Earth, causing the spread of fragments still orbiting Earth until today.
💢 After President Trump signed a presidential decree establishing a space force to be the sixth wing of the US Army, French President Macron now announced the establishment of a command of a space force in his country. - Hasan Sari (@ HasanSari7) July 13, 2019 |
A new front.
And US President Donald Trump said that "space is the new front of war in the world", and last August he established a military command for space, under the name "Space Com", and became the 11th military command in the Ministry of Defense (Pentagon), that is, it is equivalent to a matter of For example, the Central Military Command responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, or "Southcom" responsible for Latin America.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin said at the end of last year that America was rapidly developing its military capabilities for possible operations in space, and that meant that Russia would continue to develop its own space sector.
In mid-July, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that he had agreed to establish a space command within the French Air Force to improve his country's defense capabilities, explaining that the new military doctrine calling for the establishment of a space command would enhance ways to protect French satellites.
A few days after Macron's statement, French Army Minister Florence Barley explained this new military doctrine, saying that the government had allocated a budget of 4.3 billion euros for the military space sector between 2019 and 2025.