(NewsWorthy.news) – The federal government has shared that it is “likely” Russia set off a “counter space weapon” in the atmosphere, posing a risk to American satellites.
During a May 21 press conference, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder of the Pentagon revealed that the Kremlin had launched a device on May 16 that went “into the same orbit” as a satellite belonging to the United States. The government spokesperson added that “assessments” of the situation showed the Russian satellite is similar to “counter space payloads” sent by Russia back in 2022 and 2019.
He added that the Pentagon will “continue to monitor” the satellite and expressed that the government is “ready” to act defensively as it has a “responsibility” to secure the “space domain.” Additionally, the American government accused Russia of working to design an anti-satellite nuclear weapon.
The Security Council with the United Nations voted earlier this week to uphold its security for weapons in space, despite two separate efforts from different countries to ban them. On Monday May 20, a proposal spearheaded by Russia was voted down. A similar motion was put forth by the United States back in April, but the Security Council rejected it at the time.
The counter space satellite suspected by America to be in development in Russia would likely be equipped to use lasers and shine blinding amounts of light at the sensors of other satellites, impairing their ability to take photos. Additionally, the devices are able to intercept communication between satellites. Russia has already been accused by France of attempting to gather information received by one of its satellites.
Following accusations from the United States, Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, said to the media that the suspicions from the Pentagon are an “information hoax” to which he does not believe his country “should respond.” Ryabkov also stated that Russia has a history of standing against sending weapons into Earth’s low orbit.
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