Russia’s space weapon: Is it nuclear and does it pose a threat?

The US authorities has privately warned lawmakers and European allies that Russia plans to launch an area weapon with doable nuclear capabilities, in keeping with a flurry of reviews.

The information broke after Mike Turner, chairman of the US Home Intelligence Committee, issued a vague warning a couple of “critical nationwide safety risk” and urged US president Joe Biden to “declassify all info referring to this risk” for the aim of extra public discussions. Since then, information reviews have revealed further particulars about what the Russian thriller weapon is likely to be. Here’s what we all know thus far.

Does this imply Russia goals to place nuclear missiles or bombs in house?

This stays unclear. Studies from ABC Information and The New York Instances use the time period “nuclear weapon”, which might imply a weapon able to producing an explosion involving nuclear fission or fusion reactions. If that is true, it might violate the Outer House Treaty of 1967, which bans signatory international locations – together with Russia and the US – from putting nuclear or different weapons of mass destruction in house.

A nuclear explosion in house wouldn’t instantly hurt individuals on Earth, but it surely might destroy and disable a number of satellites. When the US detonated a nuclear bomb in low Earth orbit throughout its Starfish Prime take a look at in 1962, the ensuing radiation broken or destroyed about one-third of satellites in low Earth orbit on the time.

However there’s one other chance that doesn’t contain nuclear weapons.

What else might Russia’s nuclear functionality in house be?

The Russian house weapon might merely use nuclear energy to supply vitality for its onboard programs. PBS Information Hour cited US officers describing the Russian weapon as “presumably nuclear-powered”.

Each Russia and the US have used totally different types of nuclear energy in house for many years. One type includes nuclear fission reactors, corresponding to these present in civilian nuclear crops, which draw energy from an ongoing nuclear chain response.

The US launched an experimental nuclear reactor into house in 1965, whereas Russia launched not less than 34 nuclear reactors aboard satellites between 1967 and 1988, in keeping with the World Nuclear Affiliation.

The US, Russia and different international locations have additionally launched house missions powered by radioisotope programs. These harness warmth from the pure decay of radioactive supplies as a supply of electrical energy – however they provide a lot much less energy than nuclear fission reactors.

What does this Russian house weapon really do?

Information reviews agree that the Russian weapon is designed to focus on satellites in house as a substitute of instantly harming anybody or something on the bottom. Nevertheless, if the weapon is able to knocking satellites out of orbit, these objects might fall to the planet’s floor and trigger critical harm. If it blows them to items, the ensuing clouds of house particles might threaten different satellites and even the Worldwide House Station. This would possibly even set off a Kessler syndrome state of affairs, the place a sequence response of house particles cascades uncontrolled and makes it virtually not possible for satellites to outlive in Earth orbit.

Varied international locations – together with Russia, the US, China and India – have all beforehand examined anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons that contain launching missiles from Earth to shoot down objects in orbit. However international locations have been a lot quieter about whether or not they have really deployed ASAT weapons in house.

What has Russia stated about this doable weapon?

A spokesperson for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s authorities described the US warning as a “malicious fabrication” meant to spur the US Congress to go a invoice authorising extra army help for Ukraine, in keeping with Reuters. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US and Europe have been backing Ukraine’s army resistance in opposition to Russian forces.

Why would Russia need a new anti-satellite weapon?

Satellites are essential for each army and civilian functions which have a huge effect on fashionable life. They monitor the climate, energy GPS programs, present space-based surveillance and allow communication – for instance, SpaceX’s swarm of Starlink satellites has confirmed important for Ukraine’s army forces in coordinating drone and artillery strikes in opposition to Russian forces on the battlefield.

The US officers cited by PBS Information Hour advised that the Russian house weapon has “digital warfare functionality to focus on American satellites which might be important for U.S. army and civilian communication”.

Russia has spent years growing space-based digital warfare programs able to jamming the communications indicators to and from satellites, in keeping with a report by the Safe World Basis, an area safety organisation primarily based in Colorado. Victoria Samson on the Safe World Basis said that such Russian house weapons could possibly be nuclear-powered.

So how harmful might this new anti-satellite weapon be?

The excellent news is, if this house weapon jams satellites somewhat than bodily destroying them, it gained’t trigger catastrophic house particles eventualities like Kessler syndrome. Nevertheless, it might nonetheless be harmful.

An area weapon that makes use of digital warfare to jam indicators might successfully disable satellites. That might disrupt essential battlefield communications, go away GPS-guided programs inoperative, blind spy satellites and make it tougher for the US to coordinate its army forces internationally.