A space missile weapon test fired by Russia into its own satellite generated a orbital debris field endangering the International Space Station (ISS) and creating an ongoing hazard "for years to come", US officials say.
The International Space Station. Photo: Supplied/ NASA
The seven-member ISS space station crew is currently made up of a German and four US astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts.
They were directed to take shelter in docked spaceship capsules for two hours after the test on Monday as a precaution, allowing for a quick getaway if necessary, NASA said.
The research lab was orbiting about 402km above Earth and continued to pass through or near the debris cluster every 90 minutes. But after the third pass NASA specialists determined it was safe for the crew to return to the station's interior, the agency said.
The crew was also ordered to seal off hatches to several modules of the space station for the time being.
"NASA will continue monitoring the debris in the coming days and beyond to ensure the safety of our crew in orbit," the organisation's chief Bill Nelson said in a statement.
Experts said testing weapons that shatter satellites in orbit poses a space hazard by creating clouds of fragments that can collide with other objects, setting off a chain reaction of projectiles through Earth's orbit.
Thousands of fragments
The Russian military and ministry of defence were not immediately available for comment.
The direct-ascent anti-satellite missile fired by Russia generated more than 1500 pieces of "trackable orbital debris", US Space Command said.
Those would likely go on to spawn hundreds of thousands of smaller fragments.
"Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations," said Space Command chief US Army general James Dickinson.
The debris from the missile test "will continue to pose a threat to activities in outer space for years to come, putting satellites and space missions at risk, as well as forcing more collision avoidance manoeuvres," he said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the missile test as "reckless and irresponsible."
At the Pentagon, spokesman John Kirby said the test showed the need to firmly establish norms of behaviour in space.
"It is unthinkable that Russia would endanger not only the American and international partner astronauts on the ISS, but also their own cosmonauts," NASA's chief Bill Nelson said.
The incident came just four days after four of the space station astronauts arrived at the orbiting outpost to begin a six-month science mission.
Russia is not the first country to conduct anti-satellite tests in space. The US performed the first in 1959, when satellites were rare and new.
Last April Russia carried out another test of an anti-satellite missile, as officials said space will increasingly become an important domain for warfare.
In 2019, India shot down one of its own satellites in low-Earth orbit with a ground-to-space missile.
The US military is increasingly dependent on satellites to determine what it does on the ground, using space-based lasers and satellites to guide munitions, monitor for missile launches and track its forces.
These tests have also raised questions about the long-term sustainability of space operations essential to a huge range of commercial activities, including banking and GPS services.
-Reuters