WASHINGTON: Two Russian satellites in orbit were chasing a US spy satellite far above the globe, according to a US general last year.
It was unclear whether the Cosmos satellites could attack the American surveillance spacecraft USA-245.
General Jay Raymond, commander of the Pentagon’s Space Command, said, “It has the potential to create a disastrous situation in space.”
The episode was short-lived, but it signaled a new phase in space’s growing weapons race, in which theoretically bomb-carrying satellites, laser-shooting spacecraft, and other technology have progressed from science fiction to reality.
The stakes were escalated on Monday when Russia used a missile launched from Earth to destroy one of its satellites as a show of power.
The behavior was described as “reckless” by Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. At a meeting with EU defence ministers, he stated, “It reveals that Russia is now developing new weapons systems that can shoot down satellites.”