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Danger in space: Germany wants to do without tests with anti

2022-09-15T14:51:40.777Z


Debris in space threatens space travel. An international initiative therefore wants to ban the testing of certain weapons. Germany has now joined.


Enlarge image

Space Debris: Parts of destroyed satellites can remain in low orbit around the Earth for a long time

Photo: Evgeniy Shkolenko / iStockphoto / Getty Images

The war in Ukraine shows just how important data from satellites can be.

The United States, it is said, regularly provides the Ukrainian military with reconnaissance data that gives the soldiers considerable advantages in the battle against Russia.

Spying on the Americans, with the use of corresponding satellites, is likely to be a thorn in the side of the Russians.

Weapons technicians have therefore long been developing rockets and other methods to disable spy satellites.

However, their use harbors considerable risks.

Germany has therefore now declared itself ready to refrain from testing such weapons.

The USA had already made a similar commitment in April and tried to launch an international initiative to ban such weapon developments - now the federal government is following suit.

Canada and New Zealand had also joined.

Most recently, at the end of last year, Russia tested an anti-satellite missile – presumably of the A-235 PL-19 “Nudol” type – and shot down one of its own disused satellites.

This created a cloud of debris made up of possibly thousands of parts, which whirls through space and can pose a threat to other objects for years to come.

Shortly after the destruction of the satellite, for example, the International Space Station ISS had to be partially evacuated, and the crew, which at the time also included the German astronaut Matthias Maurer, were asked to withdraw to a docked spacecraft.

In addition to Russia, the USA, China and India have also carried out similar tests.

Germany has never undertaken such tests, but according to the current agreement, which was launched in Geneva, it does not want to do so in the future either.

As part of the United Nations working group on responsible behavior in space, a German representative declared: »Germany undertakes not to carry out any destructive tests of ground-based anti-satellite missiles.«

space travel in danger

Depending on the altitude of the orbit, debris can remain in low-Earth orbit for decades or centuries – only then do the particles burn up in the atmosphere.

For other satellites, but above all for manned space programs and space stations, even the smallest particles can become problematic.

Because these are traveling at great speed, in the worst case they can become a deadly hazard for astronauts.

In the long term, ever-increasing amounts of space debris will mean that space travel from Earth may no longer be possible at some point.

Anti-satellite missiles can not only be launched from Earth, but sometimes also from high-flying military jets.

The USA had developed such a rocket – the Vought ASM-135 could be launched from an F-15 jet.

In 1985, the US military destroyed a disused solar observation satellite at an altitude of 555 kilometers.

The program was later discontinued.

In addition to such missiles, there are other ways to take out military satellites.

Specially developed missiles, so-called killer satellites, could also be used.

Russia may have launched one of these into space a few years ago.

Jamming devices that prevent satellite communication have also been developed.

In 2004, the USA put such a device, also known as a jammer, into service, the Counter Satellite Communications System.

The ground-based technology consists of an antenna, transmitter and receiver, which can be placed on a truck trailer.

However, this type of disruption does not produce any dangerous space debris.

The Russians are also developing a system that avoids debris.

In the system called Kalina, foreign espionage satellites are supposed to be blinded by lasers.

joe

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2022-09-15

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