Earlier this week Russia blew up one of its own satellites as a part of a missile test that resulted in a huge mess of debris floating around Earth’s orbit.
The US Department of State claims to have identified more than 1,500 pieces of debris from the event that may be hazardous to anyone in orbit.
A ground-based missile was fired on November 15 to destroy the Russian satellite Cosmos 1408 as a part of anti-satellite weapons testing. The satellite originally launched in 1982 and since its destruction has created a cloud of material that may set off an avalanche of future collisions.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos reported that the astronauts living onboard the International Space Station (ISS) were required to shelter as a cloud of space debris seemed to be passing the station every 90 minutes, the time it takes for the ISS to orbit the Earth.
The US Space Command has been tracking ASAT tests from Russia for the last couple of years. In 2020 they reported two tests of Russia’s ASAT technology however, both tests did not seem to actually hit any large targets in space.
Ned Price, US State Department spokesperson said in a briefing, “This test will significantly increase the risk to astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station, as well as to other human spaceflight activities,”.
We condemn Russia's reckless test of a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile against its own satellite, creating space debris that risks astronauts' lives, the integrity of the International Space Station, and the interests of all nations.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 15, 2021
The first few times the debris from Cosmos 1408 passed the ISS, NASA astronauts sheltered inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon. The Dragon docked with the ISS last week, carrying four new astronauts to the space station. Mission controllers directed the crew to close the hatches before sheltering however, they were soon able to re-enter the ISS.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson said, “With its long and storied history in human spaceflight, it is unthinkable that Russia would endanger not only the American and international partner astronauts on the ISS, but also their own cosmonauts,” There are currently seven people living on the ISS, two of which are Russian cosmonauts.
“I’m outraged by this irresponsible and destabilizing action,” Nelson said in a statement to The Verge.
Roscosmos stated that “the crew is routinely performing operations according to the flight program,”
The Russian military has also commented, calling the response from the Pentagon “hypocritical” in a statement translated by NBC. “The United States knows for certain that the resulting fragments” from the ASAT test “did not and will not pose a threat to orbital stations, spacecraft and space activities.”
Foreign Minister Lavrov denied accusations Russia destroyed satellite with a missile that Russian military has admitted doing. pic.twitter.com/Yo1Jlgenu9
— Darth Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) November 16, 2021
Russia is not the only country to have previously destroyed its own satellite. The US, India and China have conducted their own ASAT tests and have contributed to the upsettingly large amount of space junk orbiting the earth.
Dr Alice Gorman of Flinders University told IFLScience that other satellites used for missile target practice have been much smaller, and consequently produced less junk.
Gorman also said that her sources indicated that Roscosmos was not aware of the plans by their own nation’s military until after Cosmos 1408 had been blown up, however, this has not been confirmed or denied by the somewhat cryptic statement the agency issued.
NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who was onboard the ISS, stated over the ISS live feed to mission controllers, “Thanks for a crazy but well-coordinated day,”
“We really appreciate all the situational awareness you gave us, and it was certainly a great way to bond as a crew starting off with our very first workday in space.”
