The Pentagon believes that Russia launched a space weapon into orbit
The United States believes Russia launched what it believed to be a space weapon last week, which is now in the same orbit as a US government satellite.
This was stated by Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder, reports ABC News .
The Russian Federation launched a space weapon into orbit
“What I’m tracking is that on May 16, as you pointed out, Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we believe is likely a space weapon capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit,” – Ryder said.
He noted that Russia has placed this new anti-space weapon in the same orbit as a US government satellite.
– Estimates also indicate characteristics reminiscent of previously deployed anti-space payloads in 2019 and 2022, – the Pentagon representative concluded
As the publication noted, Ryder did not comment on whether the US knew about the launch in advance.
At the same time, the Reuters agency , citing an American official, writes that the American special services expected the launch of KOSMOS 2576 and informed the allies about their assessment of the satellite before its launch into space. The launch also included civilian satellites placed into various orbits.
Russia’s Soyuz launch vehicle launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome about 800 km north of Moscow on May 16 and launched at least nine satellites, including KOSMOS-2576, into low Earth orbit. This type of Russian military space probe-“inspector” has long been condemned by American officials for “reckless behavior” in space.
