Anti-satellite weapon
Anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) are space weapons designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic or tactical[1] purposes. Although no ASAT system has yet been utilized in warfare, a few countries (China, India, Russia, and the United States) have successfully shot down their own satellites to demonstrate[2] their ASAT capabilities in a show of force.[3][4] ASATs have also been used to remove decommissioned satellites.[5]
ASAT roles include: defensive measures against an adversary's space-based and nuclear weapons, a force multiplier for a nuclear first strike, a countermeasure against an adversary's anti-ballistic missile defense (ABM), an asymmetric counter to a technologically superior adversary, and a counter-value weapon.[6]
Use of ASATs generates space debris, which can collide with other satellites and generate more space debris.[2] A cascading multiplication of space debris could cause Earth to suffer from Kessler syndrome.
Law[edit]
On November 1, 2022, a U.N. working group adopted for the first time a resolution calling on countries to ban destructive anti-satellite missile tests. Although not legally binding, the resolution reflects an increase in international political support for a ban on these weapons. Other countries have noted that the United States has already tested its ASAT destruction capability and, therefore, this U.S.-backed resolution limits the progress of the other countries.[68]
