Joey Roulette and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – On Monday, the United States will declare that it won’t conduct an anti-satellite test (ASAT missile test), following recent criticisms of a Russian similar test which could have caused damage to the International Space Station.

Kamala Harris is the U.S. vice president and chair of the National Space Council. She will announce the U.S. self-imposed ban at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

Harris will push other nations to adopt this ban as part of the Biden government’s strategy for responsible space use. It is also the nation’s first such ban.

This commitment addresses one the most urgent threats to space security and sustainability, as shown by Russia’s Nov 2021 destructive ascent ASAT missile attack. According to the White House, the People’s Republic of China had conducted an identical test in 2007 and described Harris’s announcement Monday.

Russia tested-launched on Nov. 15, an antisatellite missile. It struck a Soviet-era satellite in low Earth orbit and created at least 1,632 pieces.

Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary Of State at the time, condemned the test as “reckless” and irresponsible. The debris field presented risks to satellites on orbit. It forced astronauts from the United States into the International Space Station (an orbital research lab managed by NASA and Russia’s Roscosmos).

The U.S. has increased intelligence cooperation to Ukraine amid Russia’s continued invasion.

Experts from the West have expressed concern that Russia could target and shoot down space-based intelligence satellites during the conflict.

According to the White House, these debris now pose a threat to satellites and other objects in outer space. This is a serious concern for all countries’ economic and security interests. It also increases spacecraft risk.

In December 2012, the United States was first to support an anti-satellite weapons test ban.

India, China and the United States have been the only nations to create orbital debris as a result of anti-satellite missile tests. China’s single demonstration in 2007 was the most notable.

According to the White House, “Conflict and confrontation in outer space are not inevitable.”

“The United States had indicated that it will be engaging the international community in order to strengthen and uphold a rules-based international space order.”