US Space Command: Russia is now operationalizing co-orbital ASAT weapons (arstechnica.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by llamacoffee@lemmy.world to c/militaryspace@sh.itjust.works

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[-] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

A bit more clearly what they're apparently doing. I suspect they will target Starlink:

After several tests of unusual “nesting doll” satellites in low-Earth orbit, Russia is now fielding operational anti-satellite weapons with valuable US government satellites in their crosshairs, the four-star general leading US Space Command said this week.

[-] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Starlink? Unless they Kesslerise the entire orbital shell (even the Russian military aren't that reckless, right?), that'd be like playing whack-a-mole. SpaceX and the US military would just go "oh no... anyway" and launch replacement sats next week.

A couple paragraphs later, the article indicates that NRO spy satellites are the likely target:

The newest suspected Nivelir satellite was launched last May from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Its launch was precisely timed for the moment Earth’s rotation spun Plesetsk underneath the orbital plane of the NRO’s USA 338 Keyhole-class optical spy satellite.

this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2026

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