Russia Launches Counterspace Weapon Into Same Orbit as U.S. Satellite

Russia likely launched a counterspace weapon “capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit” last week, said Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder on May 21.

The satellite—Cosmos 2576—went into the same orbit as America’s usa 314 satellite, the United States Space Command told Reuters. It was launched on May 17 from Russia’s Plesetsk cosmodrome, about 500 miles north of Moscow, Russia.

The news was dismissed by Russia as an “information hoax.”

Space war: The report comes three months after U.S. sources warned that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear weapon designed to target American satellites. Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Russia has threatened to target U.S. satellites helping the Ukrainian military.

Russia also vetoed a United Nations resolution drafted by the U.S. last month that called on members to prevent an arms race in outer space.

Achilles’ heel: Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has long warned of the dangers of America’s reliance on computer systems, especially in military matters. In 1995, he quoted analyst Joseph de Courcy, who called it “the Western world’s Achilles’ heel.”

Russia and China’s development and launch of counterspace weapons show that they are exploiting this vulnerability, reaching as far as outer space.

Learn more: Read “The Satellite Slayers.”