Russia Creating "Death Cloud" for Starlink Satellites
Technology
According to NATO intelligence services data, Russia may be developing a new type of weapon capable of disabling thousands of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites at once. The principle of its operation is to create a cloud of microscopic projectiles in orbit. Experts, however, doubt the feasibility and advisability of such a project due to the risk of uncontrollable consequences for all countries.
The American agency Associated Press (AP), citing intelligence from two NATO countries, reports on the possible development of a new type of anti-satellite weapon in Russia. According to Western intelligence, its target system is the global constellation of Starlink communications satellites from Elon Musk's SpaceX, which plays a critical role in Ukraine's defense.
The proposed weapon's principle of operation is not a direct attack on individual satellites, but the deployment in the orbit where the Starlink constellation is located of a whole "cloud" consisting of hundreds of thousands of microscopic (a few millimeters in size) projectiles. This "orbital buckshot" could theoretically damage or disable several satellites at once, creating "space debris."
The alleged goal is said to be Moscow's desire to undermine the West's technological superiority, and in particular, to deprive Ukraine of access to high-speed satellite internet from Starlink.
However, Western experts interviewed by the agency express serious doubts about the feasibility and advisability of such a weapon. They point to the enormous risk of uncontrollable consequences for the entire Earth's space infrastructure. The cloud of debris formed in orbit could cause "catastrophic collateral damage" to the satellites of other states and companies, including Russia and its allies, and create a long-term threat to all space flights.
Victoria Samson, a space security specialist at the Secure World Foundation, suggested that this might be purely experimental research. The AP materials do not specify whether the system has been tested or at what stage its development is.
The proposed weapon's principle of operation is not a direct attack on individual satellites, but the deployment in the orbit where the Starlink constellation is located of a whole "cloud" consisting of hundreds of thousands of microscopic (a few millimeters in size) projectiles. This "orbital buckshot" could theoretically damage or disable several satellites at once, creating "space debris."
The alleged goal is said to be Moscow's desire to undermine the West's technological superiority, and in particular, to deprive Ukraine of access to high-speed satellite internet from Starlink.
However, Western experts interviewed by the agency express serious doubts about the feasibility and advisability of such a weapon. They point to the enormous risk of uncontrollable consequences for the entire Earth's space infrastructure. The cloud of debris formed in orbit could cause "catastrophic collateral damage" to the satellites of other states and companies, including Russia and its allies, and create a long-term threat to all space flights.
Victoria Samson, a space security specialist at the Secure World Foundation, suggested that this might be purely experimental research. The AP materials do not specify whether the system has been tested or at what stage its development is.
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