By submitting this form, you are agreeing to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) are spacecraft intended to disable or obliterate satellites for tactical or strategic reasons. A few nations have successfully shot down their own satellites to show off their ASAT capabilities, despite the fact that no ASAT system has yet been used in actual combat. ASATs have additionally been used to destroy retired satellites.
ASAT functions as a force multiplier for a nuclear first strike, a deterrent against an opponent’s anti-ballistic missile defence (ABM), an asymmetric response to a technologically advanced foe, and a counter-value weapon, among others.ASATs are broadly classified into two types: those that employ brute force and those that do not.
The kinetic energy ASATs physically collide with satellites and can be anything that can fly, from ballistic missiles to drones and other satellites. Non-kinetic ASAT is a type of ASAT.
The Global Anti-satellite missile market accounted for $XX Billion in 2022 and is anticipated to reach $XX Billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of XX% from 2023 to 2030.
The U.S. Moratorium on Anti-Satellite Missile Tests Is a Welcome Shift in Space Policy.The United States was the first nation to enact a voluntary ban on the destructive testing of missile systems that use direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) technology. These weapons typically entail the launch of missiles from the surface of the Earth to destroy a satellite as it passes overhead.
China, India, Russia, and the United States have all tested these weapons, and the debris they produce can stay in low Earth orbit (LEO) for years or perhaps decades, endangering other satellites. Other nations should imitate the United States in voluntarily refraining from harmful DA-ASAT testing even if there is no international legal structure that forbids these types of tests.
All spacefaring nations and companies who want to utilise Earth’s orbits are at risk from debris. With its reliance on satellites to enable both domestic military operations and ordinary modern living, the United States has a disproportionate interest in reducing the amount of debris produced by anti-satellite tests.
A specialised DA-ASAT weapon has never been fielded by the United States in the post-Cold War era, despite the fact that it did use a missile defence interceptor to destroy a satellite.
