spacetoday.net: US bans destructive ASAT tests

US bans destructive ASAT tests

Posted: Sat, Apr 23, 2022, 9:55 AM ET (1355 GMT)
Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday that the United States will not conduct destructive anti-satellite weapons tests, calling on other nations to do the same. Harris, in a speech at Vandenberg Space Force Base, announced a ban on destructive direct-ascent ASAT tests, calling them "dangerous" because of the large amounts of debris they create. The ban is one step toward creating "new norms for responsible behavior in space," she said, asking other nations to follow the U.S. lead in this area. Space policy experts hailed the announcement as a necessary step to keep outer space safe and sustainable. However, some Republican members of Congress criticized it as "completely unnecessary" and doing nothing to deter adversaries like China and Russia.