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Kamala Harris announces US will no longer conduct anti-satellite missile tests

  The U.S. government will no longer conduct anti-satellite missile tests, making it the first nation to enact such a ban, Vice President Ha...

 The U.S. government will no longer conduct anti-satellite missile tests, making it the first nation to enact such a ban, Vice President Harris announced Monday.  

The Biden administration is setting the self-imposed ban as part of a goal to make it an 'international norm for responsible behavior in space,' Harris said. 


The new declaration comes after Russia in November conducted an anti-satellite missile test to destroy its Cosmos-1408 satellite, a soviet-era spacecraft that's been in orbit since the 1980s. 

The explosion generated a cloud of at least 1,500 pieces of trackable debris that threatened the International Space Station. China conducted a similar test in 2007, as did India in 2019. Such tests are highly controversial due to the dangerous debris they can cause - debris from an anti-satellite missile test can travel at thousands of miles and even a small fragment can damage surrounding space stations. 

Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, made the announcement during a speech at the Vandenberg Space Force Base. While at the base, the vice president received a briefing on the Space Force and the U.S. Space Command. 

The U.S. government will no longer conduct anti-satellite missile tests, making it the first nation to enact such a ban, Vice President Harris announced Monday

The U.S. government will no longer conduct anti-satellite missile tests, making it the first nation to enact such a ban, Vice President Harris announced Monday

The Biden administration is setting the self-imposed ban as part of a goal to make it an 'international norm for responsible behavior in space,' Harris said

The Biden administration is setting the self-imposed ban as part of a goal to make it an 'international norm for responsible behavior in space,' Harris said

The Biden administration has continued two Trump-era space initiatives - the creation of the Space Force as the sixth branch of the military and the Artemis program, NASA's effort to return astronauts to the moon.  

'The destruction of space objects through direct-ascent ASAT missile testing is reckless and irresponsible,' the vice president's office stated in a release. 'The long-lived debris created by these tests now threaten satellites and other space objects that are vital to all nations' security, economic, and scientific interests, and increases risk to astronauts in space. Overall, these tests jeopardize the long-term sustainability of outer space and imperil the exploration and use of space by all nations.' 

Harris visits  the Command Space Operation Center at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California, on Monday, April 18

Harris visits  the Command Space Operation Center at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc, California, on Monday, April 18

The above photo shows India's anti-satellite missile test conducted in March 2019

The above photo shows India's anti-satellite missile test conducted in March 2019 


No country has yet used anti-satellite missile technology to take out another nation's spacecraft, but four nations have demonstrated the technology on their own satellites. 

'Conflict or confrontation in outer space is not inevitable, and the United States seeks to ensure outer space remains free from conflict. The Biden-Harris Administration had made clear that the United States will engage the international community to uphold and strengthen a rules-based international order for space,' the vice president's office said. 

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