{"id":12313,"date":"2020-07-23T19:42:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T11:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/u-s-officials-say-russia-tested-a-new-anti-satellite-weapon\/"},"modified":"2020-07-23T19:42:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T11:42:00","slug":"u-s-officials-say-russia-tested-a-new-anti-satellite-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/u-s-officials-say-russia-tested-a-new-anti-satellite-weapon\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. officials say Russia tested a new anti-satellite weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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File photo of Gen. John \u201cJay\u201d Raymond, head of U.S. Space Command and Chief of Space Operations at the U.S. Space Force. Credit: U.S. Air Force<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

U.S. and British government officials said Thursday they have evidence that Russia tested a space-based anti-satellite weapon, citing an event July 15 when analysts say a Russian military satellite launched a mysterious projectile into orbit at high speed.<\/p>\n

There is no sign that the projectile stuck another satellite in orbit, but the object\u2019s release from the Russian military\u2019s Kosmos 2543 spacecraft occurred as it maneuvered near another Russian satellite.<\/p>\n

The behavior is consistent with a test of a new anti-satellite capability, U.S. Space Command said Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. Space Command has evidence that Russia conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon,\u201d military officials said in a statement. \u201cRussia released this object in proximity to another Russian satellite, which is similar to on-orbit activity conducted by Russia in 2017, and inconsistent with the system\u2019s stated mission as an inspector satellite.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Russian Defense Ministry said last year that the Kosmos 2543 satellite is part of a system designed to approach and monitor the condition of other Russian spacecraft in orbit. Kosmos 2543 was deployed by another Russian military satellite \u2014 designated Kosmos 2542 \u2014 within a few weeks after launch on a Soyuz 2-1v rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in far northern Russia.<\/p>\n

The circumstances of the launch and subsequent release of a daughter satellite in orbit bore similarities to a Russian military mission that launched in June 2017 aboard the same type of rocket, then later deployed two sub-satellites. Russian defense officials described the mission as a demonstration of an inspector probe capable approaching and imaging other objects in space.<\/p>\n

The new inspector mission that launched last November has exhibited similar behavior, according to U.S. military orbital tracking data available in the public domain. But instead of maneuvering near other Russian satellites, the Kosmos 2542 spacecraft adjusted its orbit to sync up with the orbit of a U.S. government spy satellite designated USA 245.<\/p>\n

The classified USA 245 spacecraft belongs to the National Reconnaissance Office, and it is believed to carry a powerful Earth-facing telescope to take sharp, high-resolution photos for analysis by U.S. intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Kosmos 2543 satellite started approaching another Russian military spacecraft in orbit over the last few weeks before releasing its own sub-satellite July 15 in what U.S. officials described as an anti-satellite weapon test.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Russian satellite system used to conduct this on-orbit weapons test is the same satellite system that we raised concerns about earlier this year, when Russia maneuvered near a U.S. government satellite,\u201d said Gen. John W. \u201cJay\u201d Raymond, head of U.S. Space Command and the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Chief of Space Operations, in a statement Thursday. \u201cThis is further evidence of Russia\u2019s continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, and consistent with the Kremlin\u2019s published military doctrine to employ weapons that hold U.S. and allied space assets at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks global space activity, said an analysis of publicly available satellite orbit data suggests that the Kosmos 2543 released the mysterious object July 15 at a relative velocity of more than 400 mph, or about 700 kilometers per hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a projectile being fired, not a satellite deployment,\u201d tweeted Brian Weeden, director of program planning and technical advisor for the Secure World Foundation. \u201cThat said, it\u2019s also far from a conclusive weapons test. I\u2019d put it in the worrisome category.\u201d<\/p>\n

The projectile was tracked in an orbit between 300 and 500 miles (500 and 800 kilometers) above Earth.<\/p>\n

The video below shows the Kosmos 2542 satellite\u2019s launch Nov. 25, 2019, on a Soyuz 2-1v rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.<\/p>\n