Russian officials yesterday rejected accusations that they endangered astronauts aboard the International Space Station by conducting a weapons test that created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk.
US officials on Monday accused Russia of destroying an old satellite with a missile in what they called a reckless and irresponsible strike. The debris could do major damage to the space station as it is orbiting at 28,000kph.
Astronauts now face four times greater risk than normal, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.
Photo: Reuters / NASA/Roscosmos
The test clearly demonstrates that Russia, “despite its claims of opposing the weaponization of outer space, is willing to ... imperil the exploration and use of outer space by all nations through its reckless and irresponsible behavior,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos would not confirm or deny that the strike took place, saying only that “unconditional safety of the crew has been and remains our main priority” in a vague online statement released yesterday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense yesterday confirmed carrying out a test and destroying a defunct satellite that has been in orbit since 1982, but insisted that “the US knows for certain that the resulting fragments, in terms of test time and orbital parameters, did not and will not pose a threat to orbital stations, spacecraft and space activities,” and called remarks by US officials “hypocritical.”
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov also charged that it is “hypocrisy” to say that Moscow creates risks for peaceful activities in space.
Once the situation became clear early on Monday morning, the four Americans, one German and two Russians on board the International Space Station were ordered to immediately seek shelter in their docked capsules.
They spent two hours in the two capsules, finally emerging only to have to close and reopen hatches to the station’s individuals labs on every orbit, or one-and-a-half hours, as they passed near or through the debris.
NASA Mission Control said the heightened threat could continue to interrupt the astronauts’ science research and other work. Four of the seven crew members only arrived at the orbiting outpost on Thursday night.
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology
FREEDOM CURTAILED: The conviction of 45 democracy advocates proves the ‘unworkability’ of Beijing’s ‘one country, two systems’ model, the Presidential Office said Taiwan yesterday condemned China over the jailing of 45 Hong Kong activists, saying “democracy is not a crime.” The government “strongly condemned the Chinese government’s use of judicial measures and unfair procedures to suppress the political participation and freedom of speech of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. International condemnation of the jailings has been swift, with the US, Australia and rights groups slamming the sentencing as evidence of the erosion of political freedoms in the territory since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020. Yesterday’s sentencing “not only breaks the promises of ‘50
RSS