RUSSIA has raised concerns about the development of an anti-satellite space weapon.
In a recent press release, the White House said it has evidence that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear anti-satellite weapon.
GettyRussia has raised concerns about the development of an anti-satellite weapon[/caption]
This new weapon could create a dangerous amount of space debris and disrupt essential services, experts said.
John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson called the nature of such a program “troubling.”
However, he did reassure that there was “no immediate threat to anyone’s safety”
According to reports, the weapon is not yet operational but it could trigger a chain reaction of collisions.
This could make it impossible to use satellites in low-Earth orbit for decades.
Russia has immediately denied the existence of such a program, calling it a “malicious fabrication.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “It is obvious that the White House is trying, by hook or by crook, to encourage Congress to vote on a bill to allocate money; this is obvious.
“We’ll see what tricks the White House will use.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a visit to Tirana, Albania last week that Washington was discussing the issue with allies.
“This is not an active capability, but it is a potential one that we’re taking very, very seriously,” Blinken said.
“And I would expect that we’ll have more to say soon, in fact very soon, so stay tuned for that,” he added.
It’s not clear exactly how a space nuke weapon would operate, but experts said that it’s more likely to jam or fry satellites than act as an explosive.
Another huge concern about such a weapon is the creation of more space debris.
These pieces of debris and the speed at which they orbit our planet could make them a huge risk to satellites and entities like the International Space Station (ISS).
“This situation has been described in similar terms to that applied to nuclear weapons on Earth, in terms of mutually assured destruction,” experts from Live Science said.
Currently, the issue of not being able to control space debris and its trajectory is one of the most concerning to experts.