US Vice President "No Interception Test from Today"
Calls on International Community to Join Test Ban... Targeting China and Russia
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The U.S. government has announced that it will ban tests of anti-satellite interceptor missiles going forward. It is expected that not only the U.S. but also the international community will establish joint norms to globally prohibit the test launches of anti-satellite interceptor missiles. Experts view this move as targeting interception tests conducted by China and Russia.
According to CNN on the 18th (local time), Kamala Harris, U.S. Vice President and Chair of the White House National Space Council, stated during a visit to the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, "The United States will no longer conduct destructive satellite interception missile tests starting today." The U.S. is the first country to officially declare a ban on anti-satellite missile tests.
Vice President Harris emphasized, "Satellite debris resulting from interceptor missile tests affects not only astronauts and the U.S. military but also commercial satellites worldwide," adding, "Fragments the size of a basketball traveling at thousands of miles per hour can destroy other satellites, and even sand-grain-sized debris can cause serious damage."
The White House also explained in a separate statement that "this declaration is a measure to establish new norms for military activities in space." The White House pointed out, "Debris created by anti-satellite tests threatens satellites and other space objects essential to the security, economy, and scientific interests of all nations, and increases risks to astronauts," adding, "Such interception tests jeopardize the long-term sustainability of outer space and the space exploration and utilization efforts of all countries." This suggests that after banning such tests domestically, the U.S. intends to prohibit anti-satellite missile test launches by all countries worldwide in the future.
Experts see this measure as particularly aimed at China and Russia, which have been leading the development of anti-satellite interceptor missiles. Brian Weeden, director at the Secure World Foundation, a non-governmental organization in the space sector, evaluated, "The Biden administration's declaration to ban these tests is a move to pressure China and Russia." According to Secure World, since the 1960s, four countries ? the U.S., China, Russia, and India ? have conducted anti-satellite missile tests, with each country carrying out at least around ten such tests. It is known that the space debris created by these interception tests amounts to over 6,300 pieces.
The U.S. and Russia have previously engaged in tensions over space debris issues since last year. In November of last year, Russia launched a missile to intercept a Soviet-era reconnaissance satellite, and the U.S. Space Command claimed that this test generated over 1,500 pieces of space debris. At that time, NASA protested that debris from the interception approached the International Space Station (ISS), causing the cancellation of astronauts' extravehicular activities.
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