Russia recently developed its missile system to confront the US (French) nuclear arsenal.

The Economist magazine said that there was an uproar that swept the United States two days ago due to news about a mysterious Russian space weapon, and talked about 3 possibilities: the first was that it would be a nuclear weapon designed to destroy satellites, or a nuclear weapon that would be stationed in orbit, or a nuclear-powered satellite.

Mike Turner (Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee) called on the White House to declassify intelligence information related to a “serious threat to national security.” Radio stations and newspapers said that the matter was related to a Russian space-based nuclear system, which had not yet been published, indicating that it could expose satellites to America. and its allies are at risk.

The magazine explained that many of the initial reports are contradictory, but there are 3 possibilities: either it is a “pop-up” nuclear weapon designed to destroy satellites that will be placed on Earth and only launched when its use is imminent, or a nuclear weapon that will be stationed in orbit, or it is a powered satellite. Nuclear is not a bomb per se, but uses nuclear energy to power another type of device.

She pointed out that Russia's plan to deploy a nuclear weapon in a full orbit, rather than a "partial" range in which the orbit is not completely around the Earth, violates the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, and that nuclear explosions in space are prohibited under the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which Russia has signed. 1963.

A devastating weapon

Regardless of legality, this weapon will be destructive and indiscriminate, because the intense radiation resulting from a nuclear explosion not only causes damage to itself on Earth, but also creates a huge blast wave, causing massive destruction. In space, the electromagnetic pulse resulting from an orbital explosion can damage electronic devices on satellites in a large part of space.

When the United States conducted the high-altitude Starfish nuclear test in 1962, it damaged not only satellites in line of sight, but also those on the other side of the Earth because the radiation was directed by the planet's magnetic field, damaging Or destroy about a third of all satellites in low Earth orbit (Leo or Leo orbit).

If Russia carries out a similar explosion today, with about 8,300 active satellites in Leo, this will not only affect American satellites, but it will also affect Russian satellites, China and other countries, and could affect the International Space Station, which currently includes 3 Russian astronauts. And the Chinese station Tiangong, which currently includes a crew of 3 people.

Nuclear satellite

The second theory of what the weapon might be - as the Economist says - is what was reported by the "PBS NewsHour" channel, which is that Russia intends to deploy a nuclear-powered satellite with an electronic warfare capability, in which the purpose of the electronic attack is to jam. Or simulate the signals sent or received by the targeted satellite, knowing that most of this type of attack is temporary.

Russia is known to have explored such systems, and there is “new evidence suggesting that Moscow may be developing high-powered space-based electronic warfare platforms to augment its existing ground-based platforms.” Dmitry Stefanovich (of the Russian Academy of Sciences) has referred to a project known as Zeus, which is a A nuclear-powered "space tug" is planned for around 2030.

The idea of ​​using a nuclear reactor to operate a satellite is old, as Washington placed a nuclear reactor in orbit in 1965, and then the (former) Soviet Union sent more than 40 satellites of this type. This allowed the satellites to carry more powerful radars, and today Russian systems will be allowed to carry More powerful jammers.

For its part, Space Review magazine reported that Russian documents explain that the nuclear reactors on the satellites allowed the installation of “jamming devices that operate in a wide range of frequencies.” If placed in special orbits that keep the satellite above the same point for longer periods, this will allow “Continued suppression of electronic systems in large areas.”

The magazine concluded that the attractiveness of this idea for Russia - as James Acton, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment, points out - is due to the “diffuse” satellites, such as the Starlink satellites of SpaceX, which are widely used by Ukraine and its armed forces, and which cannot be destroyed one by one. But a large-scale cyberattack might do the trick.

Source: Economist