The Russian space agency assures this Tuesday that "the safety of the crew" of the International Space Station (ISS) is its "main priority".
The statement comes after the United States accused Russia of firing an anti-satellite missile that endangered the ISS.
"Only joint efforts of all space powers will be able to ensure as safe a coexistence as possible and operations in the space field," Roscosmos said in a statement.
The Americans have launched accusations over an incident that has reignited fears that space will turn into a battleground between the great powers.
According to Washington, Russia carried out an anti-satellite missile test (an Asat) on Monday that generated thousands of debris.
The seven people on board the ISS had to take refuge in their ships, moored at the station.
They prepared for a possible emergency evacuation.
This Tuesday noon, Russia admitted to having carried out such a shot.
He was targeting an old satellite.
She maintains that she did not endanger the ISS.
"On November 15, the Russian Defense Ministry successfully conducted a test at the end of which the Tselina-D spacecraft, in orbit since 1982 and inactive, was destroyed," said the Russian military.
The risk of an arms race in space
"I am scandalized by this irresponsible and destabilizing action," said Bill Nelson, the head of NASA, the American space agency, in a statement.
"It is unthinkable that Russia endangers not only astronauts who are international partners, but also its own cosmonauts", he was annoyed.
Debris generated by the dangerous Russian ASAT test caused ISS astronauts and cosmonauts to undertake emergency procedures for safety.
It's unthinkable that Russia would endanger not only intl partner astronauts on the ISS but also their own cosmonauts.
https://t.co/8VKJxon9mW
- Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) November 15, 2021
According to the Russian public agency TASS, NASA officials spoke on Tuesday morning with the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin. In the middle of the day, Moscow, the Russian capital, considered unfounded and "hypocritical" the American accusations according to which it threatened the ISS. “To say that the Russian Federation creates risks for the civilian exploitation of space is hypocritical to say the least. There is no such fact, ”said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to him, the United States "is ignoring the proposals of Russia and China for an international agreement to prevent an arms race in space". "In 2020, they created a space command and adopted a strategy one of the goals of which is to establish military domination in the cosmos",he added, accusing the United States of preparing to put anti-missile systems into orbit.
Anti-satellite fire has so far only been carried out by a handful of nations, the United States, China and India, as Russia has consistently proclaimed loud and clear that it is fighting any attempt to militarize space.
The alleged shooting on Monday generated a quantity of debris threatening the thousands of other satellites in orbit on which countries rely for many activities, for example communication or even localization.
Destroying satellites in other countries or carrying out offensives from space can prove to be strategic military assets.
But the development of such capabilities risks creating an arms race with unforeseeable consequences.
