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Russia developing space-based nukes to target US satellites

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blitzkrieg
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18 Feb 2024, 9:23 am

"The weapon is not yet operational but it could put the US's vital satellite network in danger, and has sparked major security concerns.

The weapon is not yet operational but it could put the US's vital satellite network in danger, Sky's US partner network NBC News reported, with Moscow denying the allegations.

It prompted the head of the US House Intelligence Committee to call for President Joe Biden to declassify information about a serious national security threat.

American satellites transmit billions of bytes of data on an hourly basis, and serve as a crucial backbone for US civilian communications, navigation, military operations and intelligence gathering."

https://news.sky.com/story/republican-warns-of-national-security-threat-amid-fears-of-russian-space-weapon-13071884



funeralxempire
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18 Feb 2024, 9:34 am



It's unlikely that Russia is actually planning on using nuclear bombs in space. Explosions of any sort present the risk of Kessler syndrome which would be terrible for every single nation with satellites in orbit, that includes Russia.

The weapon in question likely uses nuclear power as a source of energy, which isn't uncommon for satellites. If the goal is a manoeuvrable satellite, nuclear power is a potential means of ensuring it has enough energy to make repositioning itself repeatedly feasible.

I don't believe Russia intends on dropping nukes from space or using nukes as anti-satellite weapons. I anticipate they're planning on launching a satellite that is capable of destroying, disabling or otherwise interfering with other satellites.


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blitzkrieg
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18 Feb 2024, 5:19 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
I don't believe Russia intends on dropping nukes from space or using nukes as anti-satellite weapons. I anticipate they're planning on launching a satellite that is capable of destroying, disabling or otherwise interfering with other satellites.


I didn't think Russia was intending on dropping nukes from space - I don't think the article I provided mentions that either, though I can see that some people might surmise this as an associated idea.

My take on the article was that there could be spaced based weapons that use nuclear technology emerging in Russia, to disrupt other satellites on a more destructive scale than existing anti-satellite weapons that many nations have already have.

A bit like upgrading from conventional warfare in space to nuclear warfare in space.

It might all be a load of hype though, as the dude in the video points out. I guess time will tell.