Imagine a nuclear bomb that is launched into space and that can eliminate all the satellites in a certain radius of space. That is what the United States believes Russia may be creating and that, if real, would put the world’s major powers in a major crisis situation.
It is obvious that the situation between the world’s great powers is tense. As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, all eyes will be on the nation led by Putin. And, most of those looks are not with trusting eyes. The White House even goes so far as to state that they believe Russia is currently manufacturing anti-satellite space weapons. Would its use really be as catastrophic as we are being told?
Terrible consequences
The United States warns because the existence and use of this weapon would be a very serious problem on many levels. On the one hand, the effect it could have if it had the ability to destroy satellites in a wide radius would be terrible. Today there is increasing dependence on satellites in space and, in the future, it will be something that will increase even more. Destroying those satellites could give whoever uses the weapon a significant advantage over other countries.
But it wouldn’t be the only problem. First of all, there could be major consequences for activity on Earth. Exactly which ones are unknown, but they may range from major blackouts or service outages to accidents and damage due to falling satellite debris. Likewise, the remains would be another problem, since a volume of space debris would be generated that would be too extreme.
As you have surely read before, space debris does not stop reproducing in space and it is something that worries scientists a lot. If a weapon destroyed dozens or even hundreds of satellites with a single nuclear bomb, the amount of debris that would appear would be immense. And these debris would have the capacity to collide with other satellites and cause a totally terrible chain effect.
For now Russia may not have it ready
John Kirby of the US National Security Council says they do not believe the weapon is currently manufactured to a level where it can be used actively. But most likely it will be a matter of time. Right now they claim that they are monitoring Russia’s activity in space with the intention of being able to see everything they develop. And they are not going to stop doing so, given that they attach great importance to what the Russian plans may entail.
It must be remembered that Russia signed the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, which states that none of the participating countries can carry weapons of mass destruction into space. In that same treaty, nuclear weapons were also prohibited, all in order to protect an environment that they do not want to be altered as would occur with the use of this weapon. It is important to note that, according to the agreement, these types of weapons cannot be taken to the Moon or other planets or places in space. If Russia finally did so and broke the bases of the agreement, it would become the target of sanctions and its relationship with other countries would be greatly affected. However, it would be necessary to consider whether, in that case, Russia would be concerned about this or not.
There are 112 countries that have signed the agreement, including Spain, which did so in 1968. What is established in it is very important and it is most likely that no nation will want to violate it. From Russia, based on the statements made by the United States, they have denied that they are working on this type of space nuclear weapon and have said that it is all part of North American maneuvers to discredit them. They also believe that spreading this rumor would benefit the United States in other ways, including gaining more support for Ukraine.
The reality is that Russia surely takes into account that, if it uses a nuclear weapon of these characteristics in space, it will most likely expose itself to the same risks as other countries. At least, on Earth. Because it is clear that the domino effect that can occur with the fall of space debris and satellite debris would have the possibility of damaging Russia just as it would affect other countries.
