Straight out of the movie Gravity



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=prlIhY3e04k

[note: hyperlinks found at linked website article.]

Emphasis added in bold.

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‘A threat to all nations’: U.S. condemns Russia after major space weapon test

American astronauts huddle in capsule as field of debris floats by

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Monday, November 15, 2021

Russia on Monday tested a major antisatellite weapon in outer space, U.S. officials said, creating more than 1,500 large pieces of debris and potentially endangering American and Russian astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

U.S. Space Command first confirmed the “debris-generating event,” and Biden administration officials later said that the test involved a direct-ascent antisatellite (DA-ASAT) missile that blew apart one of Russia‘s own satellites. In addition to the 1,500 pieces of trackable debris, officials said that hundreds of thousands of pieces of much smaller debris are now floating through space and will remain a threat for years, possibly decades.

Such DA-ASAT weapons are central components of Moscow’s broader effort to develop a new generation of space weapons as part of an arms race with the U.S. and China. Monday’s event signals that the era of war in space — which was mocked by some on the political left when former President Donald Trump first proposed the creation of the U.S. Space Force — may be arriving sooner than expected.

Indeed, top American military leaders said the test was not only reckless and dangerous but also signaled clearly that Moscow is developing a strategy to defeat the U.S. in space, a battlefield critical for the communications and surveillance systems on which modern armies and navies rely.

“Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability, and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations. … Space activities underpin our way of life and this kind of behavior is simply irresponsible,” said Army Gen. James Dickinson, the head of U.S. Space Command.

“Russia is developing and deploying capabilities to actively deny access to and use of space by the United States and its allies and partners,” Gen. Dickinson said in a statement. “Russia‘s tests of direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons clearly demonstrate that Russia continues to pursue counterspace weapon systems that undermine strategic stability and pose a threat to all nations.”

Military officials said the debris created by Monday’s test could remain in orbit for decades. The dangers created by that debris may already be apparent.

The target, according to a report by the Russian Sputnik news website was reportedly a Soviet-era Kosmos-1408 that was launched in 1982. The satellite, the website said, has not been in use for decades.

Russia‘s TASS news agency, citing the country’s Roscosmos space agency, reported earlier Monday that the International Space Station had had to maneuver away from space debris while in orbit and the crew, which includes both Russian and American astronauts, were safely in “the green zone.”

Roscosmos officials said they had been warned of the potential debris danger from NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston.

It appears the two incidents are directly related, though neither Roscosmos nor NASA has explicitly said so. Space.com reported Monday that American astronauts were forced to take shelter on return ships when the space station came close to floating debris.

Weighing a response

Pentagon officials said that the U.S. is working with other nations to ensure that satellites and other space assets aren’t threatened by the Russian debris. In the vastness of space, however, it’s virtually impossible to guarantee that a piece of debris doesn’t cause damage at some point in the future.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will respond — though it’s unclear how.

“The long-lived debris created by this dangerous and irresponsible test will now threaten satellites and other space objects that are vital to all nations’ security, economic, and scientific interests for decades to come,” Mr. Blinken said in a statement late Monday. “The United States will work with our allies and partners as we seek to respond to this irresponsible act. We call upon all responsible space-faring nations to join us in efforts to develop norms of responsible behavior and to refrain from conducting dangerous and irresponsible destructive tests like those carried out by Russia.”

The test came just hours before President Biden was set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a widely anticipated virtual summit Monday evening. The timing may have been a not-so-subtle effort by the Kremlin to cast itself as a global power on equal footing with both the U.S. and China.

On Capitol Hill, key lawmakers warned that direct conflict in space between the U.S. and its rivals is no longer a distant notion borrowed from science fiction.

The surprise Russian test was “exactly why we stood up Space Command and created the Space Force. Space has already become a warfighting domain,” Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

Other Republicans called on Mr. Biden to take a tough line against Russian President Vladimir Putin. They also touted the creation of Space Force, which was formally established in December 2019 as the first new military branch since 1947 and is viewed as a landmark achievement of the Trump administration.

“I’m grateful that U.S. Space Command is tracking the aftermath of this irresponsible test, but the Biden administration must make it clear to Putin, in no uncertain terms, that this is unacceptable,” Sen. James Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican and ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “It is precisely because of threats like these that I worked with then-President Trump to create the Space Force.”

Since Mr. Biden came to office, the White House has expressed its support for the Space Force. But a group of House Democrats has introduced legislation to abolish the service, casting it as wasteful.

“It’s time we turn our attention back to where it belongs: addressing urgent domestic and international priorities like battling COVID-19, climate change, and growing economic inequality. Our mission must be to support the American people, not spend billions on the militarization of space,” Rep. Jared Huffman, California Democrat, said in September when introducing his bill to eliminate Space Force.

That legislation has little chance of becoming law.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Modern Day Savage,

Not directly related to Russia's anti-satellite missile test today, but still an interesting development.

[Note: hyperlinks found at linked website article.]


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Russia Blames American Astronaut for Mysterious Space Station Hole

Tim Binnall
August 16, 2021




The strange case of a mysterious hole discovered in a Soyuz capsule attached to the International Space Station back in 2018 has taken a troubling turn as an official with the Russian space agency now says that the damage was intentionally caused by an American astronaut. The bold accusation reportedly came by way of an article from the Russian news agency TASS. In the piece, an anonymous "high ranking" official with the Russian space agency put forward a rather elaborate scenario for how the curious hole, which measured approximately 2 millimeters in diameter, in the Soyuz capsule came to be and pointed the finger at American astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancello as the alleged culprit.

The unnamed Russian source claims that, which serving about the ISS, the astronaut suffered from a blood clot in her jugular vein. This condition, they assert, caused Auñón-Chancello to have "an acute psychological crisis" wherein she tried to damage the Soyuz capsule in a manner that would facilitate her early return to Earth. How, exactly, such an audacious plan would have worked goes unsaid, though the Russian official did note a number of curious elements about the incident which led to the space agency's surprising conclusion that the creation of the hole was a proverbial inside job.

Specifically, they raised suspicions about the fact that a video camera monitoring the area had stopped working, that NASA refused to perform polygraph exams on the astronauts who were aboard the ISS when the damage was done, and that the evidence suggests that the hole was created by someone inside the capsule operating in a weightless environment, meaning it had to have been made by someone in space at the time. As one might imagine, NASA is not buying the conspiracy theory offered by the Russian space agency official and strongly pushed back against the accusation.

When asked about the claims during a media event on Friday, NASA's human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders reportedly remarked that Auñón-Chancello "is an extremely well-respected crew member who has served her country and made invaluable contributions to the agency. We stand behind Serena and her professional conduct and I did not find this accusation credible." These words were echoed by NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who declared that "I fully support Serena and I will always stand behind our astronauts." The dispute will undoubtedly increase tension between the two space agencies which may be headed towards a dissolution of their working relationship sometime in the not-too-distant future should Russia go ahead with plans to abandon the ISS.

Updating the thread with this story about possible criminal charges over the ISS "mystery hole".

[Note: hyperlinks at linked website article.]

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Russia Suggests Possible Criminal Charges Over ISS 'Mystery Hole'

December 02, 2021

By Tim Binnall

A tiny hole that was discovered in a Soyuz capsule attached to the ISS back in 2018 continues to be a very big problem for US-Russian space relations as the latter country has reportedly hinted that they could bring criminal charges against an American astronaut whom they have accused of causing the damage. The bizarre saga began three years ago when the 2-millimeters-in-diameter spot was found to be causing an air leak in the iconic space station. A pair of cosmonauts subsequently patched the hole and passed along their documentation of the damage to officials with the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The mystery over who or what created the hole percolated for the next few years until it erupted into a major controversy this past August when an anonymous "high ranking official" with the space agency told a Russian media outlet that American astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, who was aboard the ISS at the time, was to blame for the puzzling damage. The explanation put forward by this individual was that she had been suffering from an "an acute psychological crisis" brought about by health issues due to a blood clot and was attempting to hasten her return to Earth. The wild conspiracy theory was understandably met with considerable skepticism from NASA, which dismissed the claim and stressed their full support for Auñón-Chancellor.

And now in the latest twist to the very strange dispute, Roscosmos indicated this week that they have completed their investigation into the matter and have turned their findings over to Russian law enforcement officials, which could ultimately result in criminal charges being filed. Lest one think that their assessment may have changed, it would appear that the space agency has doubled down on their accusation of Auñón-Chancellor with a rather salacious new theory wherein the astronaut allegedly created the hole "due to stress after an unsuccessful romantic relationship with another crew member."

This new development has led to yet another repudiation from NASA with Administrator Bill Nelson declaring that "these attacks are false and lack any credibility." For their part, the space agency says that they were able to determine the exact location of all American astronauts aboard the ISS at the time that the hole was formed and that they were nowhere near the point of intrigue. As such, an alternative theory put forward by observers is that the accusations against Auñón-Chancellor are an attempt by Roscosmos to deflect attention from their own responsibility for the puzzling hole.

quote:

It’s time we turn our attention back to where it belongs: addressing urgent domestic and international priorities like battling COVID-19, climate change, and growing economic inequality.

Poppycock! Balderdash! Utter rubbish! The main function of government is to protect its populace. "Climate Change" is not an imminent problem (if one at all). COVID-19 is on the way out. Economic inequality will always exist, principally because some people are more ambitious than others.

flashguy