France and NATO have joined the United States in condemning Russia for conducting a missile test that blew up a defunct Russian satellite, creating a debris cloud that endangered the International Space Station (ISS) — an accusation dismissed by the Kremlin.
The anti-satellite missile test blew up a defunct Russian satellite on November 15, and generated more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and will likely generate hundreds of thousands of smaller pieces, U.S. officials said.
According to NASA, the debris forced the crew aboard the space station — four Americans, a German, and two Russians — to shelter into their docked spaceship capsules for two hours as a precaution to allow for a quick evacuation had it been necessary.
Without naming Russia, French Defense Minister Florence Parly on November 16 lashed out at “space vandals” who were producing dangerous amounts of debris, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Moscow for its “dangerous and irresponsible” anti-satellite missile test. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson denounced Russia’s “reckless” action.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed it had conducted a weapons test targeting an unused Russian satellite that had been in orbit since 1982, insisting that the debris it generated “did not and will not pose a threat to orbital stations, spacecraft and space activities.”
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called accusations against Russia baseless, while a vague statement issued by Russian space agency Roskosmos said that it was monitoring the situation to “prevent and counter all possible threats to the safety” of the space laboratory orbiting at an altitude of about 420 kilometers.
The test highlights a growing space arms race among global powers, encompassing everything from systems to counter missile defense systems to anti-satellite operations.
Parly wrote on Twitter that “space is a common good belonging to the 7.7 billion inhabitants of our planet.”
“The space vandals have an overwhelming responsibility for generating debris that pollutes and puts our astronauts and satellites in danger,” she wrote, after announcing in a separate tweet the launch of three French military satellites.
Blinken warnedthe debris created by “this dangerous and irresponsible test” will now threaten satellites and other space objects “that are vital to all nations’ security, economic, and scientific interests for decades to come.
“In addition, it will significantly increase the risk to astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station and other human spaceflight activities,” he added.
Stoltenberg told journalists that the missile test “created a lot of debris, which is now a risk to the International Space Station and also to the Chinese space station — so this was a reckless act by Russia.”
NASA’s Nelson said he was “outraged” at the Russian test.
“With its long and storied history in human spaceflight, it is unthinkable that Russia would endanger not only the American and international partner astronauts on the ISS, but also their own cosmonauts,” Nelson said in a statement.
“Their actions are reckless and dangerous, threatening as well the Chinese space station and the taikonauts on board,” he added.
U.S. Space Command said its initial assessment was that the debris will remain in orbit for years and potentially for decades, posing a long-term threat to the ISS and more than 3,000 active satellites from multiple countries.
In a sign of the strategic nature of the test, Space Command said Russia was developing and deploying capabilities to deny access to and use of space by the United States and its allies.
“Russia’s tests of direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons clearly demonstrate that Russia continues to pursue counterspace weapon systems that undermine strategic stability and pose a threat to all nations,” Space Command commander James Dickinson said.
“Russia, despite its claims of opposing the weaponization of outer space, is willing to jeopardize the long-term sustainability of outer space,” Blinken said, adding that the United States was discussing its response with partners.
At the UN General Assembly in September last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested an agreement among space powers to prohibit the placement of weapons in space, as well as the threat or use of force against outer space objects.
Anti-satellite weapons are high-tech missiles possessed by few countries.
India was the last to carry out a test on a target in 2019, in a move strongly criticized by other powers, including the United States.
The United States shot down a satellite in 2008 in response to China demonstrating a similar capability in 2007.
The U.S. and India tests were carried at much lower altitudes — well below the International Space Station — than the one conducted by Russia.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
