Pentagon claims Russia has launched counter space weapon in the same orbit as a US government satellite

The US has claimed several times this week that Russia had launched a possible counterspace weapon into the same orbit as a US satellite.

Major General Pat Ryder confirmed the news at a news conference on Tuesday, after US Ambassador Robert Wood made the first accusation to the UN on Monday.

“What I’m following here is that on May 16, as you highlighted, Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we believe is likely a counterspace weapon likely capable of destroying other satellites in low Earth orbit.” attack,” Ryder said. ABC news.

“Russia has deployed this new space weapon in the same orbit as a US government satellite,” he added. “And so, assessments further indicate characteristics similar to previously deployed counterspace payloads from 2019 and 2022.”

It came after Wood made the statement to the UN on Monday, as the United States and Russia drafted rival resolutions in an effort to ban weapons in space.

The designs focused on different types of weapons, with the US and Japan specifying weapons of mass destruction. The Russian draft discussed all types of weapons.

Members of the United Nations Security Council condemned the actions, even though they failed to pass any action against them.

“The culmination of Russia’s campaign of diplomatic nonsense and hypocrisy is the text before us today,” US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the council.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia denied that his country was trying to mislead the world. Backed by China and others, he called the vote “a unique moment of truth for our Western colleagues.”

“If they do not support this, they will clearly demonstrate that their main priority remains to preserve for themselves the freedom to accelerate the militarization of space,” Nebenzia said.

Every country says it wants to ban weapons from space, and council members reiterated that Monday.

But when it came time to vote, the council split evenly 7-7 between US and Russian proponents, with Switzerland abstaining. The measure failed under UN rules because nine votes were not in favor.

Ryder said the US remains vigilant about what appears to be Russia’s attempt to weaponize space.

“Obviously we will continue to monitor that,” he said. “We would certainly say that we have a responsibility to be ready to protect and defend the space domain and to ensure continued and uninterrupted support to the joint and combined force.”

“And we will continue to balance the need to protect our interests in space with our desire to maintain a stable and sustainable space environment.”

Ryder would not say whether the US knew in advance that Russia was carrying out the launch.

In early May, a Pentagon official warned lawmakers that Russia’s development of a nuclear space satellite could disable all other global satellites for as long as a year.

Satellites are not built to withstand the radiation from a nuclear explosion and some could be destroyed by the blast, causing “devastating” consequences for the US and other countries’ capabilities in space.

This is the first time the Biden administration has openly discussed the “indiscriminate weapon” at an open congressional hearing, following a disclosure by lawmakers in February.

Meanwhile, China has launched the first mission to collect samples from the moon’s dark side, while the US government has warned that China could claim ownership of the moon if it were to reach the lunar surface first.

“The concept we’re concerned about is that Russia is developing and — if we can’t convince them otherwise — they will eventually fly a nuclear weapon into space that will be an indiscriminate weapon,” said John Plumb, the deputy Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. said during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing.

He added that the weapon would not distinguish between civilian, commercial or military satellites that provide mobile phone reception, internet access and data on foreign threats.

SpaceX’s Starlink has 5,400 satellites in orbit that have been critical to Ukraine staying online and having communications capabilities during the ongoing Russian invasion.

In February, lawmakers first warned that Russia was developing a nuclear anti-satellite, known as a nuclear EMP, that posed a “serious national security threat” to the US.

“Our general knowledge of Russia’s pursuit of these types of capabilities goes back many, many months, if not a few years,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. CNN at the time.

“But only in recent weeks has the intelligence community been able to assess with a greater sense of confidence exactly how Russia continues to pursue this.”

The weapon has not yet been deployed into space, and Plumb said there is no “imminent” threat to public safety, and that the anti-satellite would not be capable of attacking humans or causing physical destruction on Earth.

However, if the nuclear EMP is deployed, “it could threaten all satellites operated by countries and companies around the world, as well as the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial and national security services to which we all serve to depend on. up,” Plumb said.

Shortly after lawmakers said Russia was building the anti-satellite nuclear weapon, Russian President Vladimir Putin vehemently denied the reports at a meeting. meeting with his defense minister in Moscow and claimed he was against deploying nuclear weapons in space.

Concerns about Russia’s potential impact on space satellites arise as China launched the Chang E’6 mission to the dark side of the moon on Friday, becoming the first country to deploy a mission to the region.

Last month, NASA warned that China could use its civilian space program as a cover for military operations and that their plans to create a landing base on the lunar surface could pose a national security threat.

He noted that many of his concerns stem from the close ties of China’s space programs to the People’s Liberation Army, a military arm of the Communist Party.

“My concern would be if China got there first and suddenly said, ‘OK, this is our territory, stay out,’” Nelson said.

He said his concerns stem from the close ties of China’s space programs to the People’s Liberation Army, a military wing of the Communist Party.

“My concern would be if China got there first and suddenly said, ‘OK, this is our territory, stay out,’” Nelson said.

He argued that if anyone doubts his warning, they should look at Beijing’s claims that the country owns most of the territory in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which is jointly owned by China, Taiwan, Vietnam , Malaysia and the Philippines.

“China has made extraordinary progress, especially in the last decade, but they are very secretive about it,” Nelson said at the hearing.

“We believe that many of their so-called civilian space programs are a military program,” he continued. “And I think we’re actually in a race.”