US official: Russia's stalker satellite sure looks like an orbital weapon
The Russian official who called commercial satellites "legitimate targets" now says concerns are "unfounded.".
The Russian official who called commercial satellites "legitimate targets" now says concerns are "unfounded."
The short version
- On Wednesday, several days after a Russian military spacecraft moved within striking distance of one of those commercial satellites, the same Russian diplomat assured the world there’s no reason to worry.
- There’s a sharp incongruity in those statements from Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy head of Russia’s delegation to the United Nations.
- “Just last weekend, Russia’s Ministry of Defense Kosmos 2612 exhibited threatening behavior by intentionally maneuvering dangerously close to a commercial satellite,” Brian Hardesty, a US State Department official, told the UN committee.
What happened
“These behaviors appear consistent with an on-orbit weapons operation. The comments were the first from the US government since the close encounter last weekend.
Why it matters
Vorontsov said the US government’s concerns, echoed by European officials, were “unfounded” distractions.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.