US Calls for an End to Anti-Satellite Missile Tests Over Space Junk Risks
The risk of debris cluttering Earth’s orbit has prompted the US to pledge it’ll never conduct an anti-satellite missile test again.
In a speech on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris made the pledge to stop “destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing,” and called on all nations to join the US’s commitment. “Simply put: These tests are dangerous, and we will not conduct them,” she said.
In making the pledge, Harris pointed to Russia’s anti-satellite missile test back in November. The experiment involved using a ground-based missile to destroy one of the country’s own satellites, which created over 1,600 pieces of debris in Earth’s orbit.
The same debris can travel up to 17,500 miles per hour as it circles the planet. So even a small piece of debris can cause devastating damage if it collides with another satellite, spacecraft, or space station.
“This debris presents a risk to the safety of our astronauts, our satellites, and our growing commercial presence,” Vice President Harris added. “A piece of space debris the size of a basketball, which travels at thousands of miles per hour, would destroy a satellite.”
As another example, Harris cited a 2007 anti-satellite missile test from China; it created 2,800 pieces of debris, which still remain in Earth’s orbit.
Both China and Russia have been conducting such tests to create weapons capable of taking down US satellites. However, Harris added the same tests threaten to ruin space travel and satellite infrastructure for all nations by filling the Earth’s orbit with dangerous junk.
“Whether a nation is spacefaring or not, we believe this will benefit everyone, just as space benefits everyone,” she said. “If a satellite was taken out by debris, it could
Read more on pcmag.com
