TWO Russian satellites are “pursuing” space capsules used by Germany’s armed forces, the country’s defence minister has warned.
Boris Pistorius said Russian Luch Olymp surveillance satellites are trailing Intelsat satellites as he warned about the growing threat of Putin’s activities in space.
ReutersGerman Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned Russian satellites are pursuing space capsules used by his country’s military[/caption]
He told a conference in Berlin: “Russia and China have in recent years rapidly expanded their capabilities for conducting warfare in space.
“They can disrupt, jam, manipulate or even physically destroy satellites. In space, there are no borders or continents.”
Pistorius called for talks to draw up offensive capabilities in space as a deterrent – and revealed that Germany will spend $41billion on space defence by 2030.
The Luch Olymp satellites – launched in 2014 – were built for Russia‘s Ministry of Defence and the FSB.
It comes months after a secretive Russian “killer satellite” was detected launching another mysterious flying object near a US spacecraft.
Kosmos-2558 is on an orbital path which is suspiciously close to USA-326 – an American spy satellite.
It is believed to have the capacity to monitor enemy spy satellites – and potentially shoot them down if needed.
And last year, Putin launched a terrifying weapon system into space – capable of killing other satellites.
The Pentagon said the Russian counter-space weapon was put into the “same orbit” as a US government satellite – and is likely tracking the space device.
The Russian space object, believed to be Cosmos-2576, was launched on a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket.
The Pentagon said at the time: “Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we assess is likely a counter-space weapon.
“It was deployed into the same orbit as a US government satellite and assessments further indicate characteristics resembling previously deployed counter space payloads from 2019 and 2022.”
In response, Russia’s Roskosmos state space agency said the launch was “in the interests of the defence ministry of the Russian Federation”.
But in 2023, US intelligence chiefs warned that Russia is planning to launch nukes into space that would destroy satellites in a “grave” threat to the world’s security.
Military experts warned that Putin would take the “suicidal” decision to launch the deadly weapons if he felt his grip on power was being threatened by Ukraine and the West.
Putin has already tested orbital weapons designed for blasting Western kits – such as the anti-satellite weapon, Cosmos 2543.
To battle increasing space threats from enemies like Russia, China and Iran, the US Space Force is set to become a “combat credible arm of the military”.
The specialist organisation dedicated to orbital warfare has spent five years in the “establishment phase” since being signed off by Trump in 2019.
Terrifying space weapons of the future
Rods from God
A strange but utterly terrifying weapon has been dubbed “rods from the God” and is based on the concept of creating man-made meteorites that can be guided towards the enemy.
Instead of using rocks, rods the size of telephone poles are deployed.
These would be made out of tungsten — a rare metal that can stand the intense heat generated by entering Earth’s atmosphere.
One satellite fires the rods towards the Earth’s atmosphere while the other steers them to a target on the ground.
Reaching speeds of 7000mph they hit the ground with the force of a small nuclear weapon — but crucially creating no radiation fall out.
As bizarre as it sounds, a US Congressional report recently revealed the military has been pushing ahead with the kinetic space weapons.
Molten metal cannons
This intriguing idea is being developed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
It is called the Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition or MAHEM.
This game changing rail-gun can fire a jet of molten metal, hurled through space at several hundred miles per second by the most powerful electromagnets ever built.
The molten metal can then morph into an aerodynamic slug during flight and pierce through another spacecraft or satellite and a munition explodes inside.
Space force ships
Already the United States is powering head with its spacecraft, although China is busy developing one of their own.
The top-secret American XS-1 is under development by DARPA.
It can travel ten times the speed of sound and launch missiles.
Meanwhile an unmanned craft is currently being developed in the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Centre in Mianyang, Sichuan province, which is also known as Base 29
GettySpace stations orbiting the earth are important assets in the strategic space[/caption]
AFPGerman Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has warned about Putin’s activities in space[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
