The U.S. commits to finishing anti-satellite missile testing, calls for a global deal

Key takeaways: 

• The United States government has dedicated itself to ending the practice of anti-satellite missile tests, Vice President Kamala Harris declared on Monday.
• Plans for the action were set late last year after the Russian military destroyed a bygone satellite with an anti-satellite weapon.
• The U.S., Russia, China, and India — have ruined their satellites in ASAT tests.

The United States government has committed to terminating the practice of anti-satellite missile tests, Vice President Kamala Harris declared on Monday, suggesting other countries pursue its lead.

An anti-satellite weapons, or ASAT, test is a military demonstration in which a spacecraft in orbit is thrashed utilizing a missile system. 

Historically, nations performing ASAT tests have targeted their assets in space.

Plans for the action were set the late previous year, after the Russian military crushed an extinct satellite with an ASAT on Nov. 15. The Russian test made thousands of bits of debris in low Earth orbit and sent astronauts on the International Space Station into the shelter as it washed through the shrapnel field.

During Harris’ first meeting in December as chair of the National Space Council, the vice president led the group to work with other agencies and make bids to set new national security norms in space.

The U.S. ASAT commitment, which overlaps with Harris’ tour of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, keeps the first step of that measure.

 The White House emphasized that “the United States is the first country to make such a statement” to end such testing.