The U.S. will not run direct ascent anti-satellite missile tests

The U.S. will not run direct ascent anti-satellite missile tests. 

WASHINGTON: After previously criticizing a similar test by Russia for jeopardizing the International Space Station with debris, the U.S. will announce on Monday that it will not perform an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test.

At the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who leads the National Space Council, will announce a self-imposed U.S. prohibition.

The prohibition, which is the first of its sort by a country, is part of the Biden administration’s strategy to promote responsible space usage. Harris will call on other countries to follow suit.

“As evidenced by Russia’s catastrophic direct ascent ASAT missile test in November 2021, this pledge addresses one of the most significant space security and sustainability challenges. In 2007, the People’s Republic of China carried out a similar test.” In a statement the White House described the substance of Harris’s remark on Monday.

According to a U.S. Space Force database of orbital objects, Russia test-fired an anti-satellite missile on Nov. 15 that hit a defunct Soviet-era spy satellite in low-Earth orbit, resulting in at least 1,632 pieces of space debris.

The test was deemed “reckless and irresponsible” by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as the debris field posed a threat to active satellites in orbit and forced U.S. astronauts aboard the International Space Station, which is primarily managed by NASA and Russia’s space agency Roscosmos.

As Russia’s incursion grinds on, the declaration coincides with greater U.S. intelligence collaboration with Ukraine.

Western analysts have expressed worry that Russia could target and shoot down space-based intelligence satellites during the fight.

The debris released by these tests now threatens satellites and other space objects that are critical to all nations’ security, economic, and scientific interests, according to the White House, and puts people in orbit at risk.

In December, the U.S. announced its support for a prohibition on anti-satellite weapon tests.

The only other countries that have created orbital debris from anti-satellite weapon tests are the United States, China, and India, with China’s lone demonstration in 2007 creating the most perfect swarm of debris.

“Conflict or confrontation in outer space is not inevitable,” the White House statement added, “and the United States seeks to guarantee that outer space remains free of conflict.”

“The… administration has made it plain that the U.S. will work with the international community to maintain and develop a rules-based international space system.”