US says Russia likely launched anti-satellite weapon into space

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations stated that, based on assessments, Russia likely launched an anti-satellite space weapon into orbit near an American satellite last week.

According to CNN, this is not the first time Russia has launched a space weapon to destroy or disrupt satellites in space.

Robert Wood labeled Russia’s space launch “troublesome.” In 2022, Russia launched a similar weapon into space.

Wood said, “Russia launched a satellite on May 16 into a low Earth orbit, which the United States assesses is likely an anti-satellite weapon and is probably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit. Russia placed this new anti-satellite weapon in the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite.”

He added that this launch “follows previous launches by Russia of satellites that are likely anti-satellite systems and were sent into low Earth orbit in 2019 and 2022.”

The United States and its allies work to prevent the development of space weapons, especially atomic ones, by Russia. If such weapons are deployed in space, they could potentially destroy many commercial and government satellites by generating a large energy wave upon explosion.

In April, the United States and Japan jointly presented a resolution to the UN Security Council, urging UN member states not to produce space nuclear weapons, but Russia vetoed it.

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