Russia just tested anti-satellite space weapon, US claims

U.S. Space Command badge. — (Image credit: U.S. Space Command)

The U.S. government says Russia tested a space weapon earlier this month.

Russia says the device, launched July 15, is not a weapon but rather a satellite designed to inspect other satellites. But, the U.S. Space Command (USCC) said in a statement that the Russians launched an anti-satellite weapon. Whatever the device is, Russia launched it from another satellite, known as Cosmos 2543 — a satellite that was launched Nov. 25, 2019. It entered a new orbit, closely approaching (but not destroying) a third Russian satellite.

That behavior, USCC said, is "inconsistent with the system's stated mission."

The USCC included a statement from the U.S. State Department criticizing the move, suggesting Russia was "hypocritical" for testing the weapon while calling publicly for outer space arms control.

In December 2019, the U.S. Congress and President Donald Trump established the Space Force, a branch of the military dedicated to operations in space. The U.S. military had already conducted activities in space, including an anti-satellite weapon test that destroyed a malfunctioning U.S. orbiter in 2008. India and China have also tested anti-satellite weapons. However, the Russian device may be unique in that it launched from another satellite as opposed to from the Earth's surface.

"Moscow aims to restrict the capabilities of the United States while clearly having no intention of halting its own counterspace program — both ground-based anti-satellite capabilities and what would appear to be actual in-orbit anti-satellite weaponry," said Christopher Ford, the acting U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

This latest Russian test, according to USCC, involved the same Russian satellite system that followed a U.S. spy satellite around for a while in February. Russia also tested an anti-satellite missile in April.

Rafi joined Live Science in 2017. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of journalism. You can find his past science reporting at Inverse, Business Insider and Popular Science, and his past photojournalism on the Flash90 wire service and in the pages of The Courier Post of southern New Jersey.