Washington: An anti-satellite weapons test by Russia against one of its own targets has generated debris that is a risk to astronauts on the International Space Station and other activities in outer space, the US State Department said on Monday.
Experts say weapons that shatter satellites pose a space hazard by creating clouds of fragments that can collide with other objects, setting off a chain reaction of projectiles through the Earth’s orbit.
“Russia’s dangerous and irresponsible behavior jeopardizes the long-term sustainability of … outer space and clearly demonstrates that Russia’s (claims) to oppose the weaponization of space are disingenuous and hypocritical,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
The Russian missile generated more than 1,500 pieces of “trackable orbital debris,” Price added.
At the Pentagon, spokesman John Kirby said the most immediate concern was the debris but the test showed the need for norms in space.
