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>It's not like there aren't a million other ways to test it without actually blowing anything up. How do you test a system without ever using it? Every ASAT we
by orbital-decay 5y ago
>It's not like there aren't a million other ways to test it without actually blowing anything up.
How do you test a system without ever using it? Every ASAT weapon in operation (from ASM-135 to the Indian one) has been tested on live targets, except for the old Soviet Kontakt which remained unproven yet still was in operation for some time (IIRC).
- alkonaut 5y agoCouldn't testing be performed on targets that are in a very low orbit with high drag, so 90% of the debris is on that orbit or lower?
- jabbany 5y agoIt's not like they're sending up a new satellite just to blow up... From Wikipedia: > Kosmos 1408 was a Soviet Union ELINT (Electronic and Signals Intelligence) satellite launched into low Earth orbit on 16 September 1982. It replaced Kosmos 1378. > On 15 November 2021, it was destroyed during an anti-satellite weapons test, resulting in over 1500 pieces of debris that subsequently risked collision with the International Space Station (ISS). I'd say this is not that much different from something like Operation Crossroads where a bunch of decommissioned (old & captured) warships are blown up to "test what would happen if you nuked a warship"...
- m4rtink 5y agoThe last US and India ASAT tests were all on newly launched satellites.
- jhgb 5y agoOf course it could. AFAIK that's what the US has always been doing. Not so much Russia or China. But India tried to minimize debris as well.