Russia tests anti-satellite weapon, debris threatens ISS

[Resilient Acceleration]

It was so bad that emergency was declared and the crew were ordered to seek shelter. The ISS' orbit was also forcibly altered to avoid total disaster. And yes, there are Russian cosmonauts on the ISS.

Russia has conducted an antisatellite weapons test. The resulting debris field has forced astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter while the debris flies by in orbit.

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/15/10559366 ... astronauts

An anti-satellite weapons test by Russia against one of its own targets has generated debris that is a risk to astronauts on the International Space Station and other activities in outer space, the U.S. State Department said on Monday.

Experts say weapons that shatter satellites pose a space hazard by creating clouds of fragments that can collide with other objects, setting off a chain reaction of projectiles through the Earth's orbit.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-milita ... 021-11-15/

To say that this crime threatens modern civilization isn't far-fetched.

Price said the US would consult with allies and partners on a response, adding that the test generated "hundreds of thousands" of pieces of orbital debris.

"The test has so far generated over 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital, orbital debris that now threaten the interests of all nations," Price said during a State Department press briefing.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/11/15/poli ... index.html

What's noteworthy is that this is the second time this year that Russia have done this. Of course, Russia isn't the first to randomly wakes up one day and decided "hey, let's generate a cloud of space death in the infrastructure that is the backbone of our modern civilization!". But that still don't absolve them from what I think amount to a grievous crime that, in an ideal world, should be severely and intensely punished.

[Senkaku]

They've been doing this a lot, huh? Do the Russian general staff think Kessler syndrome is a hoax or something? Maybe we actually should've pushed the button in '62, just to spare ourselves the trouble-- can you imagine how much fiber optic cable we'll have to lay if they wreck all of LEO with one of these?

[Hukhalia]

humanity in spite of achieving nigh-catastrophic levels of military power continues to find more ways it can fuck the world up - episode 48934280

[Stellar Colonies]

ffs Russia

This is real life, not that Kessler Syndrome movie.

[Rusozak]

...Isn't this exactly how the movie Gravity started?

[Stellar Colonies]

...Isn't this exactly how the movie Gravity started?

In the IRL adaption, we're skipping the space shuttle and getting right to the climax.

[HISPIDA]

god mother fuckin

ghhhhhhhhhhhhgh

[Vikanias]

It’s Russia, what do you expect?

[Kaczynskisatva]

Here we have an opinion on politics, where you should be having an opinion on astrophysics.

Everyone who can is testing anti-satellite weapons whenever they can, creating new debris in orbit and debris velocities through orbit. Space debris is a running problem for the ISS.

If you saw that the ISS did a publicity stunt, you should consider the fact that it has no relation to physical reality, and is just a publicity stunt. This would line up with what we know about the ISS itself, which has almost no relation to anything useful, and is mostly itself a publicity stunt.

[Rusozak]

Here we have an opinion on politics, where you should be having an opinion on astrophysics.

Everyone who can is testing anti-satellite weapons whenever they can, creating new debris in orbit and debris velocities through orbit. Space debris is a running problem for the ISS.

If you saw that the ISS did a publicity stunt, you should consider the fact that it has no relation to physical reality, and is just a publicity stunt. This would line up with what we know about the ISS itself, which has almost no relation to anything useful, and is mostly itself a publicity stunt.

The ISS that the Russian space agency partly owns and has cosmonauts aboard did a publicity stunt to make Russia look bad? And your source is... what, gut feeling?

[Blue Florentine]

Since when does Russia do anything sensible?

[Grenartia]

Don't mind me, just waiting for the usual suspects to defend Russia's actions here.

[The Second JELLIAN Republic]

Quite a sad thing to see really.
Russia being more belligerent and (literally) trying to blowup the cooperation we have here.
I hope it changes for the better.

[Kaczynskisatva]

The ISS that the Russian space agency partly owns and has cosmonauts aboard did a publicity stunt to make Russia look bad? And your source is... what, gut feeling?

I don't know who makes the decision on the ISS for everyone to shelter in place. Anti-satellite weapons tests are not new, and not exclusive to the Russians. This amounts to complaining that the Russians are a world power, it does not make sense, in that there are not sensible propositions which emerge from it. "Russians are bad if they test anti-satellite weapons" is not a proposition that will be generalized to "nations should not test anti-satellite weapons" because NATO also does this.

[Grenartia]

The ISS that the Russian space agency partly owns and has cosmonauts aboard did a publicity stunt to make Russia look bad? And your source is... what, gut feeling?

I don't know who makes the decision on the ISS for everyone to shelter in place.

I believe its split between the US and Russia, seeing as those are the countries where the two mission control centers for it are located.

Anti-satellite weapons tests are not new, and not exclusive to the Russians.

Yes.

This amounts to complaining that the Russians are a world power, it does not make sense, in that there are not sensible propositions which emerge from it. "Russians are bad if they test anti-satellite weapons" is not a proposition that will be generalized to "nations should not test anti-satellite weapons" because NATO also does this.

This does not follow.

While ASATs in general are a threat to orbital infrastructure, and the US, Russia, India, and China have all demonstrated ASAT capability, this test was ESPECIALLY egregious and dangerous, and it is intellectually dishonest to pretend that the concerns and condemnations surrounding it are borne of 'russophobia' or whatever other nonsense.

Any nation with Russia's level of experience in space would have to know that conducting an ASAT test with that particular target, in that particular orbit, at that particular time, would cause a debris cloud that would endanger the station and its crew.

There is no innocent excuse for Russia here. They were either acting maliciously or incompetently, and in either case, they definitely acted negligently and irresponsibly.

While the US and India's most recent ASAT tests seem to have been carried out responsibly, against satellites that were already on decaying trajectories, Russia and China seem to have a blatant disregard for avoiding Kessler Syndrome.

[Ifreann]

Can we please stop filling orbital space with shit? Do we really want to be the species that trapped themselves on their home planet because they wouldn't stop littering? The Vulcans will be talking down to us for centuries.

[Hukhalia]

glad to see this thread immediately devolve into the "russia bad" geopolitical narrative rather than a broader take on the folly of imperial power politics leading to shit like this in the first place

[Arvenia]

glad to see this thread immediately devolve into the "russia bad" geopolitical narrative rather than a broader take on the folly of imperial power politics leading to shit like this in the first place

I am absolutely prepared to report any uncivil behavior that takes place here.

[Ifreann]

glad to see this thread immediately devolve into the "russia bad" geopolitical narrative rather than a broader take on the folly of imperial power politics leading to shit like this in the first place

I am absolutely prepared to report any uncivil behavior that takes place here.

How embarrassing for you.

[Arvenia]

I am absolutely prepared to report any uncivil behavior that takes place here.

How embarrassing for you.

How is it embarrasing?

[Dakini]

I don't know who makes the decision on the ISS for everyone to shelter in place.

I believe its split between the US and Russia, seeing as those are the countries where the two mission control centers for it are located.

It also belongs to ESA, CSA and JAXA (the European, Canadian and Japanese space programmes).

[Kubra]

Here we have an opinion on politics, where you should be having an opinion on astrophysics.

Everyone who can is testing anti-satellite weapons whenever they can, creating new debris in orbit and debris velocities through orbit. Space debris is a running problem for the ISS.

If you saw that the ISS did a publicity stunt, you should consider the fact that it has no relation to physical reality, and is just a publicity stunt. This would line up with what we know about the ISS itself, which has almost no relation to anything useful, and is mostly itself a publicity stunt.

Not really. Let's look at ballistic ASAT's: If we consider the category of "everyone who can" we'll notice an absence of European's, particularly France, who could and would do so if the flex-value (the main impetus of its military projects) was worth the trouble. The US is also weirdly absent in the modern era, which is of course telling as to the wisdom of conducting such tests. I mean if the US won't touch it then that usually means it's beyond the pale, you feel?
Current research is general geared towards laser-based systems that would not necessarily destroy satellites, for obvious reasons.

[Hukhalia]

How embarrassing for you.

How is it embarrasing?

unquestioning mod sycophants tend to be largely disliked

[The New California Republic]

[...]

If you saw that the ISS did a publicity stunt, you should consider the fact that it has no relation to physical reality, and is just a publicity stunt. This would line up with what we know about the ISS itself, which has almost no relation to anything useful, and is mostly itself a publicity stunt.

You do know that repeating the same thing multiple times doesn't make it true, right?

[Arvenia]

How is it embarrasing?

unquestioning mod sycophants tend to be largely disliked

Unquestioning mod sycophants?