US bans anti-satellite missile test after criticism from Russia

The US will not conduct a type of anti-satellite ASAT missile test on Monday, after criticizing Russia for endangering the International Space Station with debris.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, will make the announcement of a U.S. ban on the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The ban, first of its kind by a nation, is part of the Biden administration's strategy to promote responsible use of space, and Harris will urge other nations to follow suit.

Russia's November 2021 destructive direct ascent ASAT missile test shows that this commitment addresses one of the most pressing threats to the security and sustainability of space. In 2007, the People's Republic of China conducted a similar test, the White House said in a statement on Monday, describing Harris's announcement on Monday.

Russians launched an anti-satellite missile that struck a Soviet-era spy satellite in low-Earth orbit on November 15, creating 1,632 pieces of space debris, according to a U.S. Space Force database of orbital objects.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken condemned the test at the time as reckless and irresponsible, as the debris field posed risks to active satellites in orbit and forced into the refuge of U.S. astronauts aboard the International Space Station, an orbital research laboratory managed by NASA and Russia's space agency Roscosmos.

The announcement comes amid increased U.S. intelligence cooperation with Ukraine as Russia's invasion drags on.

Western experts have been concerned that space based intelligence satellites could be shot down by Russia amid the conflict.

The White House said the debris created by these tests now threatens satellites and other space objects that are vital to all nations' security, economic, and scientific interests, and increases the risk to astronauts in space.

The United States first signaled its support for an anti-satellite weapon test ban in December.

China, the United States, and India are the only countries that have created orbital debris from anti-satellite weapon tests in the past, with China's lone demonstration in 2007 spawning the largest swarm of debris.

The White House statement said that conflict or confrontation in outer space is not inevitable and the United States wants to make sure that space remains free from conflict.

The administration had made clear that the United States will engage the international community to uphold and strengthen a rules-based international order for space.