“Earlier today, Russia irresponsibly conducted a destructive test of an anti-satellite missile targeting one of its satellites,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, describing Moscow’s behavior as “dangerous and irresponsible.”“.
He added that this missile test “created more than 1,500 pieces of traceable orbital debris, and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris, which now threaten the interests of all nations.”“.
The US spokesman did not clarify whether the United States would take retaliatory measures against Russia because of this experience, only saying that his country “will make it clear that it will not tolerate this type of activity.”“.
Price added that this missile test “clearly shows that what Russia says about its rejection of the militarization of space are nothing but false and hypocritical allegations.”“.
For his part, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, “The immediate concern is the debris that is now floating and which could pose a threat, including to the International Space Station.“.
“We are closely watching what kind of means Russia seems to want to develop,” he added“.
On Monday morning, the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station had to take refuge in their docked ships in preparation for a possible evacuation..
For its part, NASA expressed outrage over the Russian missile test that caused a space cloud of shrapnel.
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