T+201: Russia’s Reckless and Awful Anti-Satellite Operation

Russia recklessly carried out an anti-satellite operation on a large, defunct satellite in one of the most heavily-used and most important sections of Earth orbit. I share my thoughts on the operation, Russia’s status in the space industry at large, and what the technical and political fallout may be coming out of this.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 703 other supporters.

Topics

• Russia destroys satellite in ASAT test - SpaceNews
• Russia Confirms ASAT Test, Denies Debris Threat – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• SWF Releases Updated Compilation of Anti-satellite Testing in Space | Secure World
• 2021 Russian satellite intercept - YouTube
• SpaceNav on Twitter: “Updated orbital element distribution from the COSMOS 1408 ASAT event.”
• Op-ed | Lessons to learn from Russia’s Nudol ASAT test - SpaceNews
• Why India’s ASAT Test Was Reckless – The Diplomat

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• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by NASA