The full extent of the threat is unclear as the details remain classified. National security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to brief a small group of lawmakers on Thursday.
An undated photo shows a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink communications satellites into orbit. The Starlink constellation is made up of thousands of satellites that are difficult for adversaries to target.An undated photo shows a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink communications satellites into orbit. The Starlink constellation is made up of thousands of satellites that are difficult for adversaries to target.
Experts questioned whether a nuclear weapon would be useful against a satellite. In the vacuum of space, a nuclear explosion wouldn't create a destructive shock wave, like it does here on earth, says Brian Weeden, chief program officer with the Secure World Foundation and an expert on space weaponry.In 2021, Russia fired a missile into space that destroyed a decommissioned Soviet-era satellite. That test proved its ability to knock out satellites at will.
"There is a pretty significant threat from high-altitude nuclear explosions to satellites," he says."Nuclear weapons would be a much more efficient way of trying to destroy them." Weeden believes it might be more likely that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear reactor, which could in theory be used to power electronic warfare equipment in orbit., with speculation that it might be used as for space-based electronic warfare. The idea would be that the reactor would be used to power some sort of jamming device or other weapon that could disable satellites, Weeden says.
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