U.S. Space Command said the test showed that Russia’s missiles are capable of destroying satellites in low Earth orbit.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Space Command said Russia test fired an anti-satellite missile on April 15. The command said the test is proof that Russia’s space weapons threaten American satellites.
“Russia’s direct-ascent anti-satellite test provides yet another example that the threats to U.S. and allied space systems are real, serious and growing,” said Gen. John Raymond, commander of U.S. Space Command and U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations.
In a statement April 15, U.S. Space Command said the test showed that Russia’s missiles are capable of destroying satellites in low Earth orbit.
Raymond in February called out Russia for deploying an “inspector” satellite dubbed Cosmos-2542 that ejected a sub-satellite, Cosmos-2543 that was reportedly chasing USA 245, a classified imaging satellite owned by the National Reconnaissance Office.
These satellites “exhibited characteristics of a space weapon, conducted maneuvers near a U.S. government satellite that would be interpreted as irresponsible and potentially threatening in any other domain,” said Raymond.
The April 15 anti-satellite test is “further proof of Russia’s hypocritical advocacy of outer space arms control proposals designed to restrict the capabilities of the United States while clearly having no intention of halting their counterspace weapons programs.”
Raymond has called on governments to adopt norms for responsible behavior in space.
“It is a shared interest and responsibility of all spacefaring nations to create safe, stable and operationally sustainable conditions for space activities, including commercial, civil and national security activities,” he said.
Victoria Samson, of the Secure World Foundation, said this was Russia’s first test of a direct-ascent anti-satellite weapon. “I guess they wanted to meet the gauntlet India, the U.S. and China have thrown down,” she tweeted on Wednesday.