According to the US Space Command, Russia conducted another test on a missile system designed to destroy satellites in orbit around the Earth. It is believed to be the 10th test of this satellite or ASAT technology, but I am not sure if the missile actually destroyed something in space.
Regardless of the goal, the U.S. Space Command is openly accusing the protests. “Russian [anti-satellite] The test provides another example of a real, serious and growing threat to the United States and its combined space system. "The United States is prepared and committed to defending and defending the aggression of the interests of the nations, allies and the United States from hostilities in space."
According to an analysis by the non-profit organization Secure World Foundation, Russia has been regularly testing this ASAT system called Nudol since 2014, and the last one was done on November 15, 2019. The Nudol system consists of a mobile land vehicle with ballistic missiles capable of driving and firing from multiple locations on Earth.
I am not sure if Russia is actually targeting targets. Country Was An old Russian spaceship called Cosmos 1356, aimed at one of his satellites, may have been in the right place. According to Michael Thompson's analysisPurdue University's graduate assistant in satellite and space mechanics. However, when he traced data from the LeoLabs company, he noted that the satellite was still on top. If you hit the target today, it may take hours for the track tracking system to sort the debris. But the US Space Command says The budge “We are not currently tracking foreign objects.”
Russia and Nudol have yet to achieve a moving target on Earth. “This is about the tenth attempt to test the system as far as we can tell, and so far it seems like there hasn't been an attempt to actually destroy something,” said Brian Weeden, Program Planning Director, Secure World Foundation. The budge. Typically, these tests are not reported when they first occur, but today the US military recognizes one of these tests on the day they were performed.
Performing the ASAT test shows the power of the country, indicating that foreign enemies have the ability to destroy enemy satellites. As a result, they are often condemned by competing governments. In a statement, General Raymond said, "This experiment is further evidence of Russia's hypocritical advocacy of proposals to control alien weapons designed to limit US capabilities." “Space is important to every country and our way of life. The demand for space systems continues in a crisis situation where worldwide logistics, transportation and communications are the key to defeating the COVID-19 epidemic. ”
The ASAT test has been widely criticized by many people in the space society. This is because such demos typically generate dozens to thousands of debris that can last on orbit for months, even years. Because these tests are fast and have large impacts, the resulting debris can spread away. Those pieces are a threat to other functional spacecraft. Fast-moving junk may not work with a working satellite.
Last year, India conducted an ASAT test and withdrew from the aerospace community, successfully destroying one of its own satellites in orbit. Called the Mission Shakti, this test produced more than 400 space junks at the time of the March launch. India tried to appease the space community when conducting tests against satellites in relatively low orbit. They wanted the fragments to quickly descend to Earth. However, even after Missionary Shakti was more than four months old, dozens of fragments remained in space.
Together with India, China and the United States have successfully demonstrated their own ASAT technology. In 2007, China destroyed one of the weather satellites with a ground missile. The event produced over 3,000 fragments, some of which lasted for years in space. In 2008, the U.S. military launched a missile from the National Reconnaissance Bureau's collapse satellite, known as Operation Burnt Frost. The United States justified the protests, claiming that the satellites were equipped with poisonous hydrazine fuel, which could be dangerous if some of the satellites land.
Russia's latest Nudol test comes just a few months after accusing it of using satellites to attack the US satellite orbit. The U.S. Space Command claims that all of this action contradicts the way countries take advantage of the space environment. In a statement, General Raymond said, "To create a safe, stable and operationally sustainable environment for space activities, including space, civil and national security activities, is a common interest and responsibility of all out-of-space nations."