The Russian satellite Cosmos 1408, which orbiting the Earth, has “scattered like a puzzle”. Russia admitted, Tuesday, November 16, to have destroyed it thanks to a missile fire. She had, however, initially rejected the accusations of the international community. The latter pointed to the responsibility of Moscow in the appearance of a cloud of some 1,500 orbital debris, forcing the ISS astronauts to take shelter for fear of a collision. To better understand this event, franceinfo returns in five questions on anti-satellite fire.
1Why destroy its own satellites?
Destroying a satellite by firing a missile from the Earth is a feat, because you have to take into account the long distance, the trajectory of the target and its speed. Succeeding in this type of operation therefore requires “major civil and military programs” with “significant financial resources”, because these are maneuvers “very technical” and “complex”, remark to franceinfo Stéphane Mazouffre, research director at CNRS, specialist in space propulsion. These operations serve to assert its power in the military and space fields.
It is not a new practice. “Satellite destruction programs are as old as the satellites themselves”, summed up the daily The echoes, in 2019. During the Cold War, the United States and Russia used it to look at each other and issue warnings. The United States thus attempted to display their strength shortly after the launch of Sputnik 1, the first Soviet satellite, in 1957. Washington, taken by surprise, had reacted because the machine could fly over American territory, “to spy on him, and, perhaps, to deliver weapons, in particular nuclear”, summarizes Numerama. NASA was born in 1958 and a first American shot – failed – was carried out in 1959. The Soviet bloc in turn made one in 1963.
2Which countries have carried out anti-satellite fire?
It is a very closed club which has only four members: the United States, Russia, China and India. While this type of operation had been on hold since an American maneuver in 1985, with a missile launched from an F-15 aircraft, China destroyed one of its weather satellites in 2007, by launching a missile from the ground. The following year, the Americans shot down their USA-193 spy satellite. “while in space at more than 44,000 km / h”, then underlined the Pentagon.
India, in March 2019, in turn succeeded in shattering a satellite (Indian, which was spinning 300 km above the ground). “It’s a proud moment for India”, then reacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite international condemnation.
Space propulsion specialist Stéphane Mazouffre notes that France, the United Kingdom and Japan are also capable of carrying out such maneuvers.
3How are these shots framed?
States have adopted different regulations. In particular, they must coordinate to establish a way forward, through “Guidelines” established by the United Nations (PDF in English). In fact, coordination can be fluctuating. Indeed, “the guidelines are voluntary and are not legally binding under international law; but any measures taken for the purpose of their implementation should be in accordance with applicable principles and standards of international law”, can we read in the document.
>> What are the rules regarding space satellites and their destruction?
The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee writes in its March 2020 report (PDF in English) than “Intentional destruction, which will generate long-lived orbital debris, should not be planned or carried out”. If destruction must still take place, it must be carried out either with a missile which strikes the satellite, or with a destructive satellite which explodes next to the targeted device. This destruction, the instance specifies, must occur at times “sufficiently low altitudes” to limit the life of the debris thus generated.
4How to interpret this maneuver by Russia?
Moscow first dismissed the charges before admitting responsibility. The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that this Russian shot, carried out “with razor sharp precision”, had been carried out “in strict accordance with international law” and had “been directed against no one”. Inadmissible for Bill Nelson, the boss of NASA, “scandalized” by this action “destabilizing” from Moscow. “We move on, we ensure the safety of our crews at the ISS and do common projects”, ended up sweeping, Tuesday evening, Dmitry Rogozin, boss of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, after meeting with the head of the American space agency.
If the incident appears to be closed, one thing is certain: Russia has once again demonstrated the high performance of its missile program, issuing a warning on the international scene. “It’s a show of force” from Moscow, slice with franceinfo Stéphane Mazouffre. For him, “Russia has mastery of space, so she uses it”. “This is the whole subject of the militarization of space: it is a show of force which allows us to show neighbors that we are capable of going to demolish one of their satellites, explained to LCI Christophe Bonnal, researcher at CNES and president of the “Space debris” commissions of the International Academy of Astronautics. Because if we destroy a foreign satellite, it’s very clear: it’s war. “
This message from Moscow is not necessarily sent to Washington, according to General Jean-Marc Laurent, executive head of the Defense and Aerospace Chair at Sciences Po Bordeaux. “The other great rival power in space is China”, he reports to franceinfo. He noted, however, that the satellite destroyed on Tuesday by Russia orbited about 600 km above the ground, a very busy low orbit, where the constellation Star Link, a project of the American company SpaceX, is also located. “which will make it possible to have internet everywhere in the world and generate a threat for authoritarian regimes”. He points out that a “indirect effect” Russian firing will be to reduce the lifespan of these satellites which will have to maneuver more, and therefore use more fuel than expected, to avoid collisions.
5Will anti-satellite fire multiply?
“In principle no, it is in the interest of no one to pollute the Earth’s orbits [avec de nouveaux débris], which are useful to everyone “, according to Arnaud Saint-Martin, sociologist, researcher at CNRS and specialist in space issues. “Russia itself uses it for civilian and military purposes”, he recalls, evoking a “irrational operation”.
Specialists interviewed by franceinfo agree that anti-satellite fire should remain exceptional. It is, according to them, a particularly spectacular moment in the discreet space war. For General Jean-Marc Laurent, this war “already started” is “almost imperceptible to the Terrans” while she is “permanently unfolding”.
“In space warfare, we rather use weapons by destination or means of annoyance, jamming, masking, disturbing maneuvers with satellites that move out of their orbit, nesting satellites.”
Jean-Marc Laurent, Head of the Defense and Aerospace Chair at Sciences Po Bordeauxto franceinfo
“It is also possible to interfere with satellites from the ground with devices such as lasers but also by sending satellites which will damage the optical system of other satellites, their navigation system or their solar panels”, continues Stéphane Mazouffre.
This space war was illustrated in 2018 when France condemned a Russian espionage attempt on one of its satellites the previous year. Since then, France has acquired a Space Command in 2019.
The confrontation that is being played out above our heads is not brutal or frontal, with shots or fights, notes Jean-Marc Laurent. According to him, like the Cold War, it is a war in which “We evaluate the other, we provoke him, we force him to be constantly on the lookout, we tire him. What the Russians know how to do very well”.