Dmitry Litovkin — about the moratorium on testing of anti-satellite weapons
US Vice President Kamala Harris said at the beginning of last week that the US was introducing a moratorium on testing anti-satellite weapons. "These tests are dangerous, and we will not conduct them," she said during a visit to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, calling on other countries to join America in this matter, regardless of whether they study outer space or not.
At the same time, the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin noted: "[The Americans] have held and completed these events, and now the [US] government is trying to portray itself as a "dove of peace." The head of Roscosmos said that in the near future weapons of mass destruction in space may become a new reality and the United States already has some developments, for example, the classified mini-shuttle X-37B, which is capable of carrying weapons and reconnaissance vehicles. Rogozin also stressed that China and Russia have a proposal for a treaty banning the launch of weapons into space, but the United States is in no hurry to join this initiative.
In addition, "it must be borne in mind that the destruction of an alien spacecraft is the third World War. That is, it is "casus belli (case (for) war — approx. TASS) definitely absolutely," Dmitry Rogozin added on the air of the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
"Death Star"
Anti-satellite weapons have existed since the beginning of the era of cosmonautics. It is enough to recall the Soviet research station Almaz, a unique spacecraft designed to study outer space. For the first time he entered the orbit of the planet in April 1973 under the name "Salyut-2". The leading designer of Almaz, Vladimir Polyachenko, once told me that the creation of the station gave a powerful impetus to the development of the entire spectrum of space technology systems: military, scientific, civil, and breathed life into the development of new space systems, equipment, and technologies. Thus, the Salyut and Mir orbital stations directly originate from the Almaz orbital manned station. The International Space Station (ISS) borrowed the main service module "Zvezda" from the project, and the cargo and scientific module "Zarya" from the transport ship.
Pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Boris Volynov also noted that the general designer of the NPO Mashinostroeniya Vladimir Chelomey proposed a unique concept of a space station for solving defense, scientific and national economic tasks. "A powerful spacecraft was created, far surpassing everything created by that time in the world. Many of the OPS capabilities are still classified," he said.
Indeed, the 20-ton vehicle, which was launched into orbit by the UR-500K launch vehicle, was unique for its time (and in many ways today). Video shooting of ground objects on it was carried out by 14 cameras, including a long-focus "Agate" with a lens diameter of 2 m (today it can be seen at the Cosmonautics Museum in Moscow). He was able to take the side numbers of aircraft standing on the deck of US aircraft carriers, as well as photograph the terrain in detail. Radars were also attached to the photo optics — when optical and electronic images of the same area were superimposed, a digital map was obtained, which was introduced into the cruise missile guidance system. Among other things, Almaz received a 23 mm automatic cannon, and later the station's arsenal was replenished with two kosmos—kosmos missiles. In my opinion, judging by the 1970s, the "Diamond" could be the prototype of the "Death Star" for the saga of American director George Lucas.
As for the United States itself, back in 1962, without launching a single spacecraft, they tested the Program 505 system, which includes the Nike Zeus DM-15S interceptor missile. Then, from the Kwajalein atoll, the rocket rose to an altitude of 560 km and hit a conditional target. According to its characteristics, in combat conditions, each such missile would carry a nuclear charge of 1 Mt and could be guaranteed to disable ballistic missiles or satellites in near space. In 1966, Program 505 was replaced by an even more advanced anti—satellite system - Program 437, the concept of which was based on the Thor medium-range ballistic missile.
Fortunately, both the USSR and the USA, apart from confirming the possibility of using anti-satellite systems, did not go further. Perhaps due to the fact that space then belonged monopolistically to two countries, which by and large were still able to agree on the division of spheres of influence on earth. Evidence of this is the agreement on the non—deployment of weapons in outer space.
Space Solitaire
The idyll was spoiled by China. Since anti-satellite systems cannot be deployed in space, they can be deployed on earth. Since 2005, Beijing has conducted several tests of its own anti-satellite systems. This was confirmed by the direct defeat of the weather satellite FY-1C in January 2007. In 2015, American publications reported that "China has conducted eight tests of anti-satellite missiles" and that China is preparing to test the Dong Neng-3 (DN-3) extra-atmospheric rocket, which is designed to destroy satellites. At one of the Chinese military facilities, the relevant preparatory work was allegedly even recorded, and Beijing, they say, announced the closure of airspace in the zones where the DN-3 flight path is supposed to take place.
The base for the creation of the DN-3 was a three-stage solid-fuel mobile launch rocket Kuaizhou-1 (KZ-1A) developed by the Chinese aerospace scientific and technical corporation CASIC. The KZ-1A rocket consists of three solid-fuel stages and a fourth on liquid fuel. The size of the machine is approximately 20 m, the starting weight is about 30 tons. American weapons experts are confident that the DN-3 is capable of hitting US reconnaissance and navigation satellites that are in orbits from 300 km to 1 thousand km.
The Americans who have declared a moratorium are also not so simple. Today there are several dozen ships with Aegis missile systems at sea. They are capable not only of performing the function of an anti-missile umbrella, but also have the ability to hit space targets. So, in February 2008, the RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 missile of the Aegis complex shot down the US military satellite USA-193, which entered an uncountable orbit. In 2019, India destroyed its Microsat-R target satellite at an altitude of about 300 km with a Mission Shakti rocket, thereby becoming the fourth country in the world to test anti-satellite weapons, after the United States, Russia and China.
As for the modern Russian Federation, it is worth mentioning the S-550 system here. Its existence was officially announced in 2021 by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a traditional meeting on the development of the military-industrial complex with President Vladimir Putin. The head of the military department said that the Defense Ministry tested "the first S-550 strategic missile defense system," specifying that its deliveries are scheduled until 2025. According to him, the system will be built using a mobile launcher. That was the end of the details, as was the military custom.
However, the American expert community hastened to remind that back in November 2015, the first successful rocket launch took place. In March 2018, the sixth tests of the A-235 anti-missile of the Nudol complex and the first from a standard mobile launcher were conducted in Plesetsk. In January 2019, CNBC, citing sources in the American intelligence community, reported on Russia's successful test of an anti-satellite interception missile. It was also stated that in 2020, it was announced that the machine would be put into service in the Russian Federation. The final gathering of information on the Russian Federation in this matter was the defeat in orbit of the long-defunct Soviet satellite "Tselina-D" in November 2021 by Russia. The head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken, then accused the Russian Federation of testing an anti-satellite missile with direct launch into orbit, and called the maneuvers "destructive and reckless." As a result of these actions, he noted, more than 1.5 thousand fragments appeared in outer space, which "can be tracked." At the same time, Blinken somehow forgets that in 2008, after the Americans destroyed their USA-193, 174 fragments were formed, and after the Indian experiments - 128, according to the American analytical center Secure World Foundation. At the same time, the size of these remains requires comparison.
Orbital Landfill
It should be borne in mind that the fragments directly threaten the safety of space flights. Moreover, their defeat of a foreign spacecraft can be perceived as an attack. It will be very difficult to prove the opposite.
Honorary Academician of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky Herbert Efremov noted that today "there are more than 23 thousand observed and catalogued artificial space objects larger than 10 cm in outer space ... Smaller particles that are not visible are orders of magnitude larger. And the uncontrolled crumble of such uncounted fragments flies at speeds relative to active satellites from 1 thousand to 15 thousand m / s. Imagine a steel ball with a volume of about 1 cubic cm . This is a bullet weighing 7.9 g. Imagine a cube measuring 5x5x5 cm — this is a grenade weighing a kilogram."
Efremov notes that back in the 1960s, when the USSR was the first to develop and put into service a system of space interception of IS ("Satellite Fighter" - developed by NPO Mashinostroenie), we "thought about clogging space — it was preferable to place a fighter in front of the target in the direction of movement, with a shot "back" to the affected particles they descended to the Ground at an accelerated pace. In the future, shrapnel should have been created on the basis of materials developed that are rapidly degradable under the influence of sunlight."
I dare to assume that both American and Russian officials, as well as the heads of other countries and space agencies, are well aware that safe flights into space will cease to be possible in the near future due to the existing debris. Mastering a new space, conducting tests of anti-satellite systems, thereby creating more and more such "garbage threats", we must not forget about responsibility. Perhaps that is why, back in December 2021, after testing a Russian satellite interceptor, in response to a question from the American newspaper The New York Times: "Will Russia conduct new tests of anti-satellite systems?" — the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin noted: "More likely no than yes." It seems to me that even then, ahead of the curve, the representative of Russia thereby demonstrated some kind of solidarity with the American vice president.
Dmitry Litovkin
