US: Russia anti-sat test threatens ISS

Cape Canavaral: A Russian  weapons test created more  than 1,500 pieces of space  junk now threatening the  seven astronauts aboard the  International Space Station,  according to U.S. officials  who called the strike reckless and irresponsible. The State Department confirmed Monday that the  debris was from an old Russian satellite destroyed by  the missile.

“Needless to say, I’m outraged. This is unconscionable,” NASA Administrator  Bill Nelson told The Associated Press. “It’s unbelievable that the Russian government would do this test  and threaten not only international astronauts, but  their own cosmonauts that  are on board the station” as  well as the three people on  China’s space station. Nelson said the astronauts  now face four times greater  risk than normal. And that’s  based on debris big enough  to track, with hundreds of  thousands of smaller pieces  going undetected — “any  one of which can do enormous damage if it hits in  the right place.”

In condemning Russia,  Secretary of State Antony  Blinken said satellites were  also now in jeopardy. The test clearly demonstrates that Russia “despite  its claims of opposing the  weaponization of outer  space, is willing to ... imperil the exploration and  use of outer space by all  nations through its reckless  and irresponsible behavior,”  Blinken said in a statement.  There was no immediate  comment late Monday from  Russia about the missile  strike.

Once the threat became  clear, the four Americans,  one German and two Russians on board were ordered  to immediately seek shelter  in their docked capsules.  They spent two hours in the  two capsules, finally emerging only to have to close and  reopen hatches to the station’s individuals labs on  every orbit, as they passed  near or through the debris. -(AP)