Russian Officials dismissed their allegations that they endangered the astronauts on Tuesday International Space Station Through weapon testing, more than 1,500 pieces of space junk were produced.
US officials on Monday accused Russia of destroying an old satellite with missiles, which they called a reckless and irresponsible strike. They said the debris may damage the space station, and this assessment was supported by NATO officials.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told the Associated Press that astronauts now face four times the risk of space junk. The orbit of the abandoned Russian satellite Cosmos 1408 is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) higher than the space station.
This test clearly shows that Russia “despite its claims to oppose the weaponization of outer space, but it is willing to… through its reckless and irresponsible behavior to endanger all countries’ exploration and use of outer space,” the US Secretary of State Anthony winked Said.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos will not confirm or deny the strike, but stated in a statement on Tuesday that “the unconditional safety of the crew has been and remains our top priority.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed on Tuesday that it had conducted a test and destroyed an obsolete satellite that had been in orbit since 1982, but insisted that “the United States knows for certain that, in terms of test time and orbital parameters, the resulting debris has not been It will not fail to pose a threat to orbital stations, spacecraft and space activities.” It called the US officials’ remarks “hypocritical.”
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the attack was carried out with “surgical precision” and did not pose a threat to the space station.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also accused Russia of creating risks for peaceful activities in space as “hypocritical.”
After the situation became clear early on Monday morning, the personnel on the International Space Station-four Americans, one German and two Russians-were ordered to seek refuge in the docked capsule immediately. They stayed in the two space capsules for two hours before finally showing up. They only needed to close and reopen the hatches of the space station’s various laboratories in each orbit, or 1 1/2 hours, when they approached or passed through space. When fragmented.
When running at 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h), even a small piece of paint can cause major damage. A major event, once hit, can be catastrophic.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg agreed that Russia’s actions endanger the space station.
Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels: “As part of the anti-satellite weapon system test, Russia actually shot down and destroyed a satellite. This is a reckless act,” which caused a lot of space debris.
He said that this is an additional concern, “because it shows that Russia is developing a new weapon system that can shoot down satellites and destroy important space capabilities of the earth’s basic infrastructure, such as communications, navigation, or early warning of missile launches.. “
NASA’s Mission Control Center said the growing threat may continue to interfere with astronauts’ scientific research and other work. Four of the seven crew members arrived at the orbital outpost only on Thursday night.
A similar weapon test conducted by China in 2007 also produced countless fragments. Last week, one of them threatened to approach the space station dangerously. Although the risks it brought were eliminated, NASA moved the space station.
The US anti-satellite missile tests in 2008 and India in 2019 were conducted at much lower altitudes, well below the orbiting space station about 260 miles (420 kilometers) high.
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