Russia’s space weapon: Is it nuclear and does it pose a threat?

US officials have warned of a new international security threat – a mysterious Russian space weapon that may possess nuclear capabilities. Here’s what you need to know

By Jeremy Hsu

15 February 2024

The mysterious new weapon might threaten satellites in Earth’s orbit

KeyFame/Shutterstock

The US government has privately warned lawmakers and European allies that Russia plans to launch a space weapon with possible nuclear capabilities, according to a flurry of reports.

The news broke after Mike Turner, chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee, issued a vague warning about a “serious national security threat” and urged US president Joe Biden to “declassify all information relating to this threat” for the purpose of more public discussions. Since then, news reports have revealed additional details about what the Russian mystery weapon might be. Here is what we know so far.

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Does this mean Russia aims to put nuclear missiles or bombs in space?

This remains unclear. Reports from ABC News and The New York Times use the term “nuclear weapon”, which could mean a weapon capable of producing an explosion involving nuclear fission or fusion reactions. If this is true, it would violate the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans signatory countries – including Russia and the US – from placing nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction in space.

A nuclear explosion in space would not directly harm people on Earth, but it could destroy and disable multiple satellites. When the US detonated a nuclear bomb in low Earth orbit during its Starfish Prime test in 1962, the resulting radiation damaged or destroyed about one-third of satellites in low Earth orbit at the time.

But there is another possibility that does not involve nuclear weapons.