Russia launches own satellite in low Earth orbit, NASA says it put ISS astronauts at risk

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Bangalore: The Russian military this week conducted an anti-satellite test (ASAT) that shot down one of its own satellites in low-Earth orbit. The test was conducted with the missile launch on 13 or 14 November, and the satellite broke up on 15 November when trackable debris began to be visible in orbit.

There were over 1,500 large pieces of trackable debris. Yield According to the US government, the satellite exploded as well as potentially hundreds or thousands of smaller fragments that cannot be tracked.

The satellite that was flown was Kosmos 1408, a defunct Soviet-era ELINT (Electronic and Signal Intelligence) satellite that was launched in 1982. It had an estimated mass of 1,750 kg.

The satellite was in orbit just above the ISS at 480 km, and the space station passed through a debris field every 93 minutes, putting the astronauts and astronauts stationed there at risk, and the US space agency NASA There was criticism. The Chinese taikonauts of the country’s under-construction space station Tiangong-3 were also put at risk.

NS missile used Presumably an A-235 PL-19 Nudol anti-ballistic anti-satellite weapon, launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodron, which is located 800 kilometers north of Moscow. The missile is capable of operating at long range (1,500 km), medium range (1,000 km) and short range (350 km). He was created To save Moscow from nuclear attack.

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Threats to the ISS and the Chinese Space Station

At the time the satellite was shot down, there were seven astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) – three American, one French and one Japanese cosmonaut, and two Russian cosmonauts. They were asked by the US space agency, NASA, to take shelter in their docked spacecraft capsule for two hours as a precaution, to prepare for a quick emergency exit from the station. said in a statement.

After the ISS’s third pass through the debris, NASA considered it safe for astronauts to return inside the ISS.

The test also jeopardized the Chinese space station Tiangong-3, which is currently being assembled in orbit, and carries three Chinese taikonauts. No details have been released about the precautionary measures taken by the Chinese taikonauts.

“With its long and storied history in human spaceflight, it is unimaginable that Russia would put at risk not only American and international partner astronauts on the ISS, but their own astronauts as well. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that Their actions are reckless and dangerous, as well as endangering the Chinese space station and the tycoons on board.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a tweet that the debris had moved away from the ISS and that the station was “in the green zone”.

NS @space Station The crew is operating as per the regular flight schedule.

The orbit of the object, which today forced the crew to board the spacecraft according to standard procedures, has moved away from the ISS orbit.

The station is in green zone. pic.twitter.com/MVHVACSpmT

— (@roscosmos) November 15, 2021

Previous ASAT Tests

Soviet Union during the Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s driven A series of ASAT tests, declaring them successful.

Since the end of the Cold War, this is the fourth ASAT test conducted in space by any country with Earth-launched missiles.

India was the most recent, organizing a ASAT test In 2019, under Mission Shakti, the low-cost DRDO satellite Microsat-R was shot down. generated more than 400 pieces of trackable debris, and potentially put the ISS at risk, but most burnt atmosphere in a few weeks.

In 2007, China conducted a similar test that flew a satellite into a very high orbit, breaking it into more than 35,000 pieces, with debris spread across the entire width of low Earth orbit – 200 km to 3,850 km. to the height of The test also put the astronauts who were aboard the ISS at the time, including Indian-American Sunita Williams.

In 2009, the US conducted Operation Burnt Frost, where a defunct satellite was struck at an altitude of 220 km, creating hundreds of debris. Much of it burned up in the atmosphere, but some were blown up into higher orbits and remained there for more than 18 months.

Space debris can build up rapidly in a cascading process called Kessler syndrome, where one piece of debris collides with another satellite, which in turn creates thousands more pieces of debris.

legal question mark

Anti-satellite tests are considered a form of military technology equipped to shoot down intelligence satellites, and their use is not covered by international law. It is a matter of dispute whether the ASAT tests violate the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.

Article 9 of the treaty states that all space activities are to be guided by the principle of cooperation and mutual assistance with respect to the interests of all parties to the treaty. The treaty also forbids weapons, weapons Mass destruction and nuclear weapons in outer space, but does not explicitly prohibit conventional weapons.

This week’s trial follows closely on the heels of the increase the stress Between the US and Russia, US officials publicly warned Europe about Russia’s growing military presence on Ukraine’s borders.

(Edited by Polomi Banerjee)

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