House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) prompted a bit of head-scratching (on minor panic, depending who you read) early last week when he called on the White House to declassify information about a “serious security threat.” Reports throughout the week confirmed that the threat in question was Russia and its development of a satellite-killing weapon. The White House said it has been aware of Russia’s program for a while (like the spy balloon?) so some wondered about the timing of this revelation.
It may be the fact that Russia launched a “classified payload” into orbit recently; the US sent six satellites into space, seemingly in response. Commentary we read said it is worth noting that there are weapons with anti-satellite capabilities on earth, so it is unlikely that Russia is aiming to blow up satellites but more likely wanting to disable communications if the need arises.
America and Russia have both experimented with nuclear power in space, ending badly in some cases. Nuclear weapons in space are now banned under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, but the Treaty doesn’t cover electronic warfare, which probably wasn’t in the minds of its authors.