Pentagon Says Russia Launched a Likely Space Weapon in Path of U.S. Satellite
What the Pentagon has deemed is likely a space weapon was launched from Russia on May 16th and deployed in the same orbit as a United States government satellite.
(Washington, D.C.) The Pentagon said yesterday that Russia on May 16th launched a likely space weapon and deployed it in the same orbit as a United States government satellite.
Photo released by the Russian defense minitry press service on Friday, May 17 shows a Soyuz rocket taking off from a launch pad at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome outside Plesetsk, northern Russia; courtesy of the AP via Russian defence ministry press service via France24.
“Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we assess is likely a counter-space weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit,” Pentagon spokesman Air Force Major General Pat Ryder told a press briefing late Tuesday, per Barron’s.
Ryder added that Washington would continue to monitor the situation and was prepared to protect its interests.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked about the reports, according to France24.
“I can’t comment on this in any way. We act absolutely in accordance with international law, do not violate anything, and have repeatedly advocated banning any weapons in space,” Peskov told a regular press briefing in Moscow, per Barron’s. “Unfortunately, these initiatives of ours were rejected, including by the USA.”
Earlier in the day yesterday, Moscow accused the United States of seeking to weaponize space after Washington joined other members of the Security Council in voting down a Russian non-proliferation resolution at the United Nations, according to Barron’s.
“They have once again demonstrated that their true priorities in the area of outer space are aimed not at keeping space free from weapons of any kind, but at placing weapons in space and turning it into an arena for military confrontation,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
According to Barron’s, the world powers have proposed rival non-proliferation resolutions at the United Nations in recent months; Russia vetoed the US initiative last month, while Moscow’s proposal failed after receiving only seven votes in support, with seven against and one abstention, on Monday (May 20th).
US envoy Robert Wood said Russia’s proposal, which called on all countries to “take urgent measures to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space”, was a distraction and accused Moscow of “diplomatic gaslighting,” according to Barron’s. He added that Russia’s “likely” counter-space weapon was “presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit.”
In February, the White House said Russia was developing an anti-satellite weapon, the existence of which was confirmed after lawmakers warned of an unspecified but serious threat to national security, per Barron’s.
“The space weapon spat between Moscow and Washington resurrects the specter of space being militarized despite the 1967 Outer Space Treaty which forbids countries from deploying ‘any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction’ into orbit or outer space, reads today’s Barron’s article.
Notably, space has been an area where Russia and the United States have maintained cooperation despite Western sanctions and diminished relations after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; both countries send each other’s crew members to and from the International Space Station (ISS), where American and Russian astronauts are jointly stationed.
