Anti Satellite

Existing space treaties won’t be enough to keep satellites safe, prevent crowding and collisions, and preserve the promise of outer space. — A missile lifted off from a base in northwest Russia on a November morning in 2021. It hit its target several minutes later: a dead Russian satellite that had been orbiting uselessly since the 1980s. …

By Daryl G. Kimball Executive Director, Arms Control Association Last month, the UN General AssemblyFirst Committee, responsible for international security, approved a compromise resolution that sets into motion a new open-ended working group to develop rules of the road for military activities in space. If key countries, including the United…

Our Space Debris Expert is back to answer questions about protecting the International Space Station, the consequences of a debris cloud, and how we track space debris. — Astronauts are at risk while inside the International Space Station (ISS) and while outside the station conducting spacewalks. Extra-vehicular activity, or EVA, suits can offer protection from extremely small debris particles and most of the ISS has protective shields to safeguard the station from objects up to one cm in…

Russian Direct Ascent Anti Satellite (DA-ASAT) test weapon by targeting its defunct satellite has sparked controversies among space law academicians, what the legal domain to see such kind of space weaponry test today. This test is further proof of Russia’s hypocritical advocacy of outer space arms control proposals designed to…

The challenges of the 21st century require innovative strategies. Whether these challenges be in the form of political instabilities, environmental concerns, or physical threats, our ability to operate and to maintain national security has become increasingly reliant on space systems and the unique response capabilities afforded by the application of…

Nobody: … Me: Today India announced it’s inclusion in the list of countries with ASAT capabilities. ASAT — anti-satellite capabilities allow a country to intercept and kill satellites in orbit. No, we are not trying to start a space-war. India has always been a proponent of global peace. With this…

The Soviets and Americans planned to deploy jet fighters against spacecraft — by DAVID AXE During the 1980s, both the United States and the Soviet Union had programs to fit multi-stage, satellite-killing rockets to high-performance jet fighters. Only the Americans managed to test their system before the Cold War ended, but the Soviets came close. To quote the U.S. Air Force: The…

Thor missiles packing atomic warheads would explode high in the atmosphere — by DAVID AXE In 1962, U.S. president John F. Kennedy was in a bind. He was eager to negotiate a nuclear test ban with the Soviet Union. But the Soviets had recently shattered a three-year test moratorium and now Kennedy was under pressure to respond with a display of strength. …