Russian Anti-Satellite Weapons Test Generated Thousands of Pieces of Space Junk, US Says

Russian Anti-Satellite Weapons Test Generated Thousands of Pieces of Space Junk, US Says
The Nauka (Science) Multipurpose Laboratory Module is seen docked at the International Space Station (ISS) next to Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on July 29, 2021. Oleg Novitskiy/Roscosmos/Handout via Reuters
Bill Pan
Bill Pan
Reporter
|Updated:

Russia had “recklessly conducted” an anti-satellite missile test against a Russian satellite, producing thousands of pieces of debris that could potentially damage the International Space Station (ISS) and other spacecrafts on low-Earth orbit, the U.S. Department of State said Monday.

During a press briefing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated that the Russian missile test produced over 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris, as well as hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris that “now threaten the interests of all nations.”
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