What To Know
- The United States recently accused Russia of sending an unknown weapon into space that was allegedly aligned with the position of a government satellite.
- We can say that we have a responsibility to be prepared to protect and defend the space domain and to provide continued and uninterrupted support to the joint and combined force.
- He said, for example, that he did not want to respond to the accusations from the United States and that the russian space program was proceeding as planned, with new satellites that have different roles to play.
The United States recently accused Russia of sending an unknown weapon into space that was allegedly aligned with the position of a government satellite. According to American officials, the object, placed in low Earth orbit, is an anti-satellite weapon.
Russia – United States: the satellite of discord
If the US-Russia rivalry in space is not new, the former are quite often worried about the maneuvers of the latter. Recently, several sites and other channels such as ABC News, the BBC or Futurism have reported accusations from the Pentagon. On May 16, 2024, Russia launched an unknown object from the Plesetsk cosmodrome that would be capable of attacking other satellites, in other words a anti-satellite weapon. Now, the object in question, named Cosmos 2576, is in the same orbit as a US government satellite, namely low Earth orbit. Obviously, this is something that we will continue to monitor. We can say that we have a responsibility to be prepared to protect and defend the space domain and to provide 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 preserve a stable and sustainable space environment.” said Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.
Credits: . screenshot / n2yo.com
No evidence yet
It should be noted that this satellite project had already been denounced by the United States Space Force (USSF) in November 2023. Chief Master Sergeant Ron Lerch had mentioned possible intentional collisions between satellites caused by ” rival countries ” using ” kinetic killer vehicles“. In early 2024, U.S. defense officials also claimed that Russia was working on a nuclear space weapon. Whether or not these claims are accurate, such weapons would contradict the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The latter stipulates that no country should deploy nuclear weapons or any other type of weapon of mass destruction in outer space. On the Russian side, officials such as Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov have dodged the issue. He said, for example, that he did not want to respond to the accusations from the United States and that the russian space program was proceeding as planned, with new satellites that have different roles to play. While the Deputy Minister also mentioned devices aimed at Strengthening Russian defense capabilityhe also said that it was not a novelty in itself.
