Apr 19 1980
From The Space Library
The New York Times and Aerospace Daily said the Soviet Union tested a "killer satellite" in space, ending a two-year gap in testing antisatellite weapons. (A killer satellite is an orbiting vehicle designed to wreck other satellites by hitting them in direct collision or exploding nearby, or by directing a force such as a laser beam against them.) Cosmos 1174, launched from Tyuratam April 18, apparently neared its target (Cosmos 1171, launched from Plesetsk April 3) on its first orbit and exploded. Sources said the test was a failure.
The Soviet Union first tested an antisatellite weapon (ASAT) in 1963 and apparently was successful in destroying targets at altitudes up to 150 miles. The Soviet tests aroused concern because of U.S. dependence on satellites for a number of military uses: reconnaissance, communications, and early warning of attack. Though many U.S. satellites orbit 20,000 miles or more from Earth's surface, many systems for reconnaissance and electronic intelligence might be vulnerable. In 1978 Defense Secretary Harold Brown announced that the Soviet Union had an operational ASAT capability; after launching a killer satellite in May of that year, it had suspended tests when talks began on controlling such weapons. U.S. sources said Moscow stopped the tests as proof of its interest in a treaty to limit strategic bombers and missiles. A treaty was signed, but President Carter asked the U.S. Senate earlier this year to hold off action because of Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Talks on limiting ASATs was also suspended.
A U.S. antisatellite system in preparation but not expected before 1982- the Vought miniature homing craft carrying a heat-seeking guidance unit-was a small rocket for launch from high-altitude aircraft. The DOD was also working on a laser-powered system for possible deployment in the 1990s. With talks on limiting ASATs now suspended, and the outlook for arms control increasingly bleak, officials said the Soviet Union might have decided to revive its space weapons program. Any agreement in the near future was said to be unlikely. (NY Times, Apr 19/80, 28; AID, Apr 21/80, 280)
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