UK, US accuse Russia of firing a ‘sat weapon’ in space

The US and the UK have raised concerned about a Russian satellite test which involved the launch of a projectile with the “characteristics of a weapon”, with a British official calling on Russia to behave responsibly in space.
A CNN report said the US accused Moscow of testing an object capable of targeting a satellite. “US Space Command has evidence that Russia conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon,” the command said in a statement, saying that on July 15, Russia “injected a new object into orbit from Cosmos 2543”, a Russian satellite that has been in orbit since 2019.
On Thursday, the head of the UK’s space directorate Harvey Smith criticised Russian conduct in space. “We are concerned by the manner in which Russia tested one of its satellites by launching a projectile with the characteristics of a weapon. Actions of this kind threaten the peaceful use of space,” he said.
Russia tested the satellite, which performed checks on its space equipment, on July
15. “During testing, one of the domestic satellites was examined close up using the specialised equipment of small space craft,” the Interfax agency cited defence ministry as saying at the time.