Tag Archives: nesting doll satellites

Is Russia Developing Nuclear Anti-Satellite Weapons?

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Russia launched a satellite, Cosmos-2553, into space in February 2022 . The satellite is designed to test components for a potential antisatellite weapon that would carry a nuclear device, U.S. officials said, according to the WSJ. The satellite that was launched doesn’t carry a nuclear weapon…The eventual weapon, if and when deployed in orbit, could wipe out satellites in a part of space dominated by American government and commercial assets, they said, including SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which has proved critical for Ukraine’s war effort.

Excerpt from Warren P. Strobel, Russia Launched Research Spacecraft for Antisatellite Nuclear Weapon Two Years Ago, U.S. Officials Say, WSJ, May 16, 2024

Whoever Controls Space Controls Everything

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The U.S. military wants allies to train and plan together for space operations, in the same way that they already do in ground, air and naval combat, Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, said in an interview in July 2023. The move comes amid concerns about China and Russia’s ability to disrupt the West’s satellites and new technology the two countries have developed, including satellites that can grab others…

Russia, for instance, has conducted operations to disrupt Ukraine’s space-enabled communications. Saltzman said that Russia has been sending satellites “irresponsibly close” to those of other nations to shadow them. Moscow has “nesting doll” satellites, which can release an object that can be used to attack other objects in space, while China has tested robotic arms that can be used to grab other satellites. Both countries have demonstrated missiles that can destroy orbiting satellites…

“Quantity is a quality in itself,” he said, using an expression often employed in the military. For example, the satellites of a large coalition would be harder to target than those of one nation, he added.

Excerpt from Alistair MacDonald, U.S. Pushes Military Cooperation in Space, WSJ, July 18, 2023