2024-05-08 17:06:39
Moscow: America has warned about Russia‘s new nuclear anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon. US officials believe that the deployment of this weapon could turn Earth’s Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) into a dangerous no-man’s land. US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Mallory Stewart and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb have said that Russia’s nuclear capable ASAT weapon will be capable of carrying out nuclear strikes beyond Earth, although this weapon is still in its development process. Is. Russia is claimed to have a test satellite in an unusually high radiation orbit, intended for electronic testing but unlike typical scientific satellite deployments.
What is America afraid of?
The US believes Russia’s new nuclear anti-satellite weapon is designed to disrupt satellite operations in civil, commercial and military sectors by detonating in low-Earth orbit. Low-Earth orbit ranges from about 100 to 1,200 miles above Earth. Despite no immediate deployment, US officials are raising fears about a weapon capable of damaging satellites and compromising global communications, weather forecasting and security services essential to modern society.
America has also taken such initiative
The idea of using nuclear weapons for ASAT missions is not new. In an article in the January 2022 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, Aaron Bateman wrote that during the Cold War, US concerns about Soviet orbital nuclear weapons led the Kennedy administration to approve the nuclear-tipped ASAT weapon Project 437. Was inspired. However, American scientists discovered that high-altitude nuclear explosions could destroy or damage American satellites and cause indiscriminate damage to electrical infrastructure on Earth, causing Project 437 to be shelved.
China practiced nuclear explosion in space
In October 2022, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Chinese military scientists at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology rehearsed a nuclear explosion in near space that could devastate satellites such as Elon Musk’s Starlink. Their simulations show that a 10-megaton nuclear bomb detonated at an altitude of 80 kilometers could create a radioactive cloud, potentially destroying satellites in low-Earth orbit. Simulations show that such an explosion could pose a major threat to enemy satellites, while the risk to friendly spacecraft might be minimal.
Satellites in danger from explosion in space
Space explosions will not form clouds due to the lack of air. But, the high-energy particles will be captured by Earth’s magnetic field and spread out as radiation belts, posing a threat to spacecraft. This effect arguably makes nuclear weapons too risky for ASAT missions. However, in a near-space atmospheric detonation, the total mass of the resulting debris cloud will be larger than that of the bomb, which will increase the effects of gamma rays and beta particles against spacecraft and communications.
Why is Russia irritated with Starlink?
The decisive impact of satellites such as Starlink in the Ukraine war has prompted major military powers to invest in satellite technology and accelerate efforts to develop countermeasures. In a June 2022 Politico article, Christopher Miller and other writers noted that Ukrainian forces are launching massive attacks on Russian forces through the Starlink network. Ukrainian forces are in touch with their commanders and family despite Russia jamming their local networks. Miller and others say Starlink has weakened Russia’s efforts to isolate Ukraine, allowing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and others to remain connected to the world.
Russia has been threatening to blow up Starlink
America’s closest rivals, Russia and China, have taken note of Starlink’s capabilities and have responded by making veiled threats to destroy the satellite constellation, including by developing ASAT capabilities. In October 2022, Russia warned that US and allied commercial satellites could be targeted if they were used to support Ukraine’s war efforts. Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s nonproliferation and arms control department, has criticized the West’s use of space to assert dominance and support Ukraine. Without explicitly mentioning Starlink, Vorontsov noted that retaliatory attacks could be conducted on “semi-civilian” space infrastructure supporting Ukraine.