Russian military confirms that they shot down an old Soviet satellite in orbit

The Russian military has confirmed that it has shot down an old Soviet satellite in orbit. About it reported Ministry of Defense.

At the same time, the department said that its wreckage did not and will not pose a threat to orbital stations and space activities.

“The United States knows for certain that the resulting fragments did not represent and will not pose a threat to orbital stations, spacecraft and space activities in terms of test time and orbit parameters,” the military department said.

They added that the fragments were included in the main catalog of the domestic space control system and were immediately taken for tracking until they were destroyed.

Earlier today at the US State Department statedthat Russia conducted tests of anti-satellite weapons, after which debris formed in Earth’s orbit, posing a threat to the International Space Station. According to the ministry, Russia shot down one of its old satellites with an anti-satellite missile. As a result, about 1.5 thousand fragments of space debris were formed, the movement of which can be tracked, and hundreds of thousands of smaller debris.

“Russia’s dangerous and irresponsible behavior threatens the long-term stability of space and clearly demonstrates that Russian statements against the militarization of space are insincere and hypocritical,” said Secretary of State Ned Price.

How clarified the American company Seradata, which tracks the movement of objects in space, was shot down by the old Soviet satellite “Kosmos-1408”, intended for electronic reconnaissance. This satellite was launched in 1982 and has not been operational for several decades. Later US Space Command confirmed that this particular satellite was shot down.

On the eve of Roskosmos reported that the ISS collision threatened with space debris. Because of this, the crew of the station had to take refuge in the Soyuz and Crew Dragon ships in case of an emergency evacuation. Later it became known that the threat of a collision had passed.