Tuesday, November 16, 2021
After the ISS has been vacated
Russia confirms satellite launch in space
A Russian military test in space creates international tensions. The leadership in Moscow is accused of having endangered the crew of the space station ISS by shooting down a satellite. Now the Kremlin has also commented on the allegations – and speaks of “hypocrisy” on the part of the USA.
Russia has drawn fierce criticism by shooting down an obsolete satellite. The US government accused Moscow of jeopardizing the safety of space travelers on the International Space Station by testing an anti-satellite missile. The Russian Defense Ministry has now confirmed that the military “successfully carried out a test on Monday, as a result of which the disused” Zelina-D “spacecraft was hit”.
At the beginning of the week, the ISS was cleared twice because its space junk is said to have come close. The German astronaut Matthias Maurer has also been staying at the station for a few days. There is now great concern that the ISS could be hit by remnants of the destroyed satellite more than 400 kilometers above the earth. The Russian military, on the other hand, stressed that the satellite debris “did not and will not pose a threat to space stations, spacecraft or space activities.” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke of a “promising system” that had been tried.
According to the US Armed Forces Space Command, the test has so far left more than 1,500 traceable debris in space. Presumably, these would ultimately disintegrate into hundreds of thousands of smaller debris and “remain in orbit for years and possibly decades”. This means “a significant risk for the crew of the International Space Station and other manned space activities as well as for the satellites of several countries”.
Astronauts are warned by wake-up calls
The seven astronauts got themselves to safety twice on Monday in two spaceships docked at the station. According to the European Space Agency ESA, Maurer switched to the “Crew Dragon”. In the event of the ISS colliding with debris, the crew could have flown back to earth. However, there was no collision.
The US space agency NASA announced that the astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS had initiated “emergency procedures for safety” after air traffic control woke them up because of the debris. The hatches to certain modules have been closed. The astronauts and cosmonauts waited in their spaceships until the ISS had flown through the cloud of debris.
the “New York Times” quoted from the wake-up call that went from Houston to the ISS astronauts: “Hey Mark, good morning, sorry for the early call,” said a NASA employee to ISS astronaut Mark Vande Hei. “We were recently informed of a satellite launch and must ask you to review the (appropriate withdrawal procedure).”
“I am outraged by this irresponsible and destabilizing approach,” said NASA boss Bill Nelson. “With its long and traditional history in manned space travel, it is inconceivable that Russia would not only endanger the American and international partner astronauts on the ISS, but also its own cosmonauts.” The procedure is “inconsiderate and dangerous and also threatens the Chinese space station”.
The ESA also made it clear: “Such tests at high altitudes are very stressful for space travel,” said Holger Krag, head of the ESA space security program. They are absolutely counterproductive, ideally you don’t do them at all – and if you do, then at a low level. Because the higher the target object, the longer fragments stayed in space. The Russian space agency Roskosmos did not respond to the downing of the satellite, but emphasized: “For us, the absolute safety of the crew was and is the top priority.” The Russian near-earth space warning system continues to monitor the situation to prevent possible threats to the space station and the crew.
Russia speaks of “hypocrisy”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “We condemn Russia’s ruthless test.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a similar statement. The destruction of a satellite resulted in numerous debris, which now posed a risk to the ISS and the Chinese space station. The test is also worrying because it shows that Russia is developing new weapon systems that could also destroy the infrastructure for civil navigation and communication systems on earth. The downing of the satellite clearly shows that Russia’s claims that it opposes the militarization of space are “insincere and hypocritical,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the other hand, called the accusation that Moscow is endangering the peaceful use of space “hypocrisy”. There is no evidence for this. Instead, Lavrov criticized the Pentagon itself “in the most active way” in promoting an arms race in space, for example by testing offensive weapons.
NATO had already decided in June that attacks from or in space can in future be treated as an alliance case under Article 5 for collective defense. So far, this has been the case for attacks on the ground or in the air, sea or cyber space. One of the reasons for the move was that attacks on satellites could be used in the event of a war to paralyze parts of public life. The processing of cashless payment transactions, cell phone networks or navigation systems for road, sea and air traffic could be severely impaired. It is also conceivable that satellites will be used as delivery systems for weapons, which are then aimed at targets on earth.