Deliberate destruction of a satellite by an anti-satellite weapon, generating a debris cloud that threatens every object in low Earth orbit.
An anti-satellite weapon test deliberately destroys a satellite, usually one of the testing state's own defunct spacecraft, using a missile or other kinetic weapon, to demonstrate a military capability. Unlike accidental collisions, the event is intentional and its scale foreseeable to the state conducting it, but its orbital consequences escape control once the debris cloud is created. A test conducted in low Earth orbit can generate several thousand trackable fragments, spread across a wide range of altitudes and orbital lifetimes, some of which can threaten satellites and crewed stations for years or even decades. For space insurers, an ASAT test raises a twofold question: whether the war or hostile-act exclusion often present in space policies is triggered by such an event, and how to handle accumulation, since a single test can degrade the operating environment of an entire orbital shell and thus the future loss experience of many unrelated insureds. The growing frequency of such tests by several spacefaring powers makes it an increasing systemic risk factor for the whole sector.
On November 15, 2021, Russia destroyed its defunct Cosmos 1408 satellite with an anti-satellite missile, generating more than 1,500 trackable debris fragments and forcing the International Space Station crew to shelter in their return vehicles.
ASAT test, anti-satellite weapon, destruction cinétique de satellite, kinetic ASAT