The US authorities has privately warned lawmakers and European allies that Russia plans to launch an area weapon with doable nuclear capabilities, in keeping with a flurry of stories.

The information broke after Mike Turner, chairman of the US Home Intelligence Committee, issued a vague warning a few “critical nationwide safety menace” and urged US president Joe Biden to “declassify all info regarding this menace” for the aim of extra public discussions. Since then, information stories have revealed extra particulars about what the Russian thriller weapon may be. Here’s what we all know up to now.

Does this imply Russia goals to place nuclear missiles or bombs in area?

This stays unclear. Stories from ABC News and The New York Times use the time period “nuclear weapon”, which may imply a weapon able to producing an explosion involving nuclear fission or fusion reactions. If that is true, it could violate the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans signatory international locations – together with Russia and the US – from putting nuclear or different weapons of mass destruction in area.

A nuclear explosion in area wouldn’t immediately hurt individuals on Earth, nevertheless it may destroy and disable a number of satellites. When the US detonated a nuclear bomb in low Earth orbit throughout its Starfish Prime take a look at in 1962, the ensuing radiation broken or destroyed about one-third of satellites in low Earth orbit on the time.

However there’s one other risk that doesn’t contain nuclear weapons.

What else may Russia’s nuclear functionality in area be?

The Russian area weapon might merely use nuclear energy to supply power for its onboard techniques. PBS News Hour cited US officers describing the Russian weapon as “presumably nuclear-powered”.

Each Russia and the US have used totally different types of nuclear energy in area for many years. One kind includes nuclear fission reactors, akin to these present in civilian nuclear crops, which draw energy from an ongoing nuclear chain response.

The US launched an experimental nuclear reactor into area in 1965, whereas Russia launched a minimum of 34 nuclear reactors aboard satellites between 1967 and 1988, in keeping with the World Nuclear Association.

The US, Russia and different international locations have additionally launched area missions powered by radioisotope techniques. These harness warmth from the pure decay of radioactive supplies as a supply of electrical energy – however they provide a lot much less energy than nuclear fission reactors.

What does this Russian area weapon really do?

Information stories agree that the Russian weapon is designed to focus on satellites in area as an alternative of immediately harming anybody or something on the bottom. Nevertheless, if the weapon is able to knocking satellites out of orbit, these objects may fall to the planet’s floor and trigger critical injury. If it blows them to items, the ensuing clouds of area particles may threaten different satellites and even the Worldwide Area Station. This may even set off a Kessler syndrome situation, the place a series response of area particles cascades uncontrolled and makes it virtually unattainable for satellites to outlive in Earth orbit.

Varied international locations – together with Russia, the US, China and India – have all beforehand examined anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons that contain launching missiles from Earth to shoot down objects in orbit. However international locations have been a lot quieter about whether or not they have really deployed ASAT weapons in area.

What has Russia stated about this doable weapon?

A spokesperson for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s authorities described the US warning as a “malicious fabrication” supposed to spur the US Congress to go a invoice authorising extra army help for Ukraine, in keeping with Reuters. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US and Europe have been backing Ukraine’s army resistance towards Russian forces.

Why would Russia desire a new anti-satellite weapon?

Satellites are essential for each army and civilian purposes which have a big impact on trendy life. They monitor the climate, energy GPS techniques, present space-based surveillance and allow communication – for instance, SpaceX’s swarm of Starlink satellites has confirmed very important for Ukraine’s army forces in coordinating drone and artillery strikes towards Russian forces on the battlefield.

The US officers cited by PBS Information Hour advised that the Russian area weapon has “digital warfare functionality to focus on American satellites which are important for U.S. army and civilian communication”.

Russia has spent years creating space-based digital warfare techniques able to jamming the communications alerts to and from satellites, in keeping with a report by the Safe World Basis, an area safety organisation based mostly in Colorado. Victoria Samson on the Safe World Basis said that such Russian area weapons could possibly be nuclear-powered.

So how harmful may this new anti-satellite weapon be?

The excellent news is, if this area weapon jams satellites somewhat than bodily destroying them, it received’t trigger catastrophic area particles eventualities like Kessler syndrome. Nevertheless, it may nonetheless be harmful.

An area weapon that makes use of digital warfare to jam alerts may successfully disable satellites. That would disrupt essential battlefield communications, depart GPS-guided techniques inoperative, blind spy satellites and make it tougher for the US to coordinate its army forces the world over.