Russia Accused Of Using Spacearms To Attack Satellites In Orbit

JAKARTA The 2576 Cosmos, a Russian satellite, is accused of being a space gun by the US government. These allegations arise because the satellite was found in the same orbit as a reconnaissance satellite from the US.

Based on Spacenews' report, this accusation was made by Amb. Robert Wood as the replacement representative of the US at the United Nations. This statement was made in the UN Security Council debate regarding the resolution of Russia's proposed ban on arms placement in space.

According to Wood, the 2576 Cosmos, which was launched on May 16, uses a Soyuz-2.1b rocket. In line with its accusations, Wood believes that the rocket is capable of attacking other satellites in the same orbit.

"According to America's assessment, it is possible (this satellite) is a space weapon, perhaps capable of attacking other satellites in low-Earth orbit," Wood said. Russia deployed this new space weapon into the same orbit as US government satellites.

Wood did not explain how the US government could conclude that Russia's latest satellite was a space weapon. The US representative also did not explain what capabilities Cosmos 2576 has.

On the other hand, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya responded to Wood's statement. Nebenzya said that the US thought its satellites were nuclear engines-related, but Wood did not mention nuclear weapons in his remarks.

"Now, the US representative refers to a kind of satellite that, according to his opinion, once again with a very likely style, most likely, can be placed on a nuclear engine. I don't even understand what he's talking about," Nebenzya said.

Russia has indeed submitted a resolution proposal regarding the ban on the placement of all kinds of weapons in space. However, this proposal is considered a distraction by Wood and is referred to as, "the culmination of the flaring Russian diplomatic campaign."

The final result of the resolution, 7 out of 15 people agree with the ban on arms placement in space, including Russia and China. France, Japan, Britain, the US, and others chose not to agree, while Switzerland chose to abstain.