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99-580: The rocket series is based on CASIC's Anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) and BMD mid-course interceptor rockets, in particular the DF-21 Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) (another Chinese rocket that was based on DF-21 was the Kaituozhe-1 ). Development on the KZ launch vehicles started in 2009. The Kuaizhou launch vehicles were to provide an integrated launch vehicle system with

198-467: A range greater than 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi), primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads ). Conventional , chemical , and biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness, but have never been deployed on ICBMs. Most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike

297-675: A combination of warheads and massive amounts of countermeasures designed to defeat anti-missile systems ; it was announced by the Russian military as a response to the US Prompt Global Strike . In July 2023, North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile that landed short of Japanese waters. The launch follows North Korea's threat to retaliate against the US for alleged spy plane incursions. The following flight phases can be distinguished: ICBMs usually use

396-519: A defunct Chinese weather satellite, Fengyun-1C (FY-1C, COSPAR 1999-025A ). The destruction was reportedly carried out by an SC-19 ASAT missile with a kinetic kill warhead similar in concept to the American Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle . FY-1C was a weather satellite orbiting Earth in polar orbit at an altitude of about 865 km (537 mi), with a mass of about 750 kg (1650 lb). Launched in 1999, it

495-505: A different target. The United States , Russia , China , France , India , the United Kingdom , Israel , and North Korea are the only countries known to have operational ICBMs. Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed state that does not possess ICBMs. Early ICBMs had limited precision , which made them suitable for use only against the largest targets , such as cities. They were seen as a "safe" basing option, one that would keep

594-468: A failure, and the rocket was initially declared retired in April 2022, but later that year it was revealed that a second launch was planned for December. The successful launch of Kuaizhou 11 on 7 December 2022 marked the rocket's return to service. The solid-fuel KZ-1A can place 200 kg payload into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 kilometres. The KZ-11 version is able to put 1000 kg to

693-563: A few countries ( China , India , Russia , and the United States ) have successfully shot down their own satellites to demonstrate their ASAT capabilities in a show of force . ASATs have also been used to remove decommissioned satellites. ASAT roles include: defensive measures against an adversary's space-based and nuclear weapons, a force multiplier for a nuclear first strike , a countermeasure against an adversary's anti-ballistic missile defense (ABM), an asymmetric counter to

792-461: A minimal independent nuclear deterrent entering its own cold war after an ideological split with the Soviet Union beginning in the early 1960s. After first testing a domestic built nuclear weapon in 1964, it went on to develop various warheads and missiles. Beginning in the early 1970s, the liquid fuelled DF-5 ICBM was developed and used as a satellite launch vehicle in 1975. The DF-5, with

891-664: A network of binary addition circuits that continually recalculate the missile's position. The inputs to the navigation circuit are set by a general-purpose computer according to a navigational input schedule loaded into the missile before launch. One particular weapon developed by the Soviet Union ;– the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System  – had a partial orbital trajectory, and unlike most ICBMs its target could not be deduced from its orbital flight path. It

990-410: A purpose-launched satellite would not be seen as irresponsible. The programme was sanctioned in 2017. On 27 March 2019, India successfully conducted an ASAT test called Mission Shakti . The interceptor was able to strike a test satellite at a 300-kilometre (186 mi) altitude in low earth orbit (LEO), thus successfully testing its ASAT missile. The interceptor was launched at around 05:40 UTC at

1089-628: A range of 10,000 to 12,000 km (6,200 to 7,500 mi)—long enough to strike the Western United States and the Soviet Union—was silo deployed, with the first pair in service by 1981 and possibly twenty missiles in service by the late 1990s. China also deployed the JL-1 Medium-range ballistic missile with a reach of 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) aboard the ultimately unsuccessful Type 092 submarine . In 1991,

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1188-529: A ready state. Failure rates were very high throughout the early years of ICBM technology. Human spaceflight programs ( Vostok , Mercury , Voskhod , Gemini , etc.) served as a highly visible means of demonstrating confidence in reliability, with successes translating directly to national defense implications. The US was well behind the Soviets in the Space Race and so US President John F. Kennedy increased

1287-592: A result of the US work on the Space Shuttle . Elements within the Soviet space industry convinced Leonid Brezhnev that the Shuttle was a single-orbit weapon that would be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base , manoeuvre to avoid existing anti-ballistic missile sites, bomb Moscow in a first strike, and then land. Although the Soviet military was aware these claims were false, Brezhnev believed them and ordered

1386-447: A resumption of IS testing along with a Shuttle of their own. As part of this work the IS system was expanded to allow attacks at higher altitudes and was declared operational in this new arrangement on 1 July 1979. However, in 1983, Yuri Andropov ended all IS testing and all attempts to resume it failed. Ironically, it was at about this point that the US started its own testing in response to

1485-540: A successful USSR program became widely known in the west. A "crash program" followed, which developed into the Vought ASM-135 ASAT , based on the AGM-69 SRAM with an Altair upper stage. The system was carried on a modified F-15 Eagle that carried the missile directly under the central line of the plane. The F-15's guidance system was modified for the mission and provided new directional cuing through

1584-475: A technologically superior adversary, and a counter-value weapon. Use of ASATs generates space debris , which can collide with other satellites and generate more space debris. A cascading multiplication of space debris could cause Earth to suffer from Kessler syndrome . The development and design of anti-satellite weapons has followed a number of paths. The initial efforts by the United States and

1683-470: A weapon to destroy enemy satellites in orbit. On 10 February 2010, DRDO Director-General and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat stated that India had "all the building blocks necessary" to integrate an anti-satellite weapon to neutralize hostile satellites in low earth and polar orbits . In April 2012, DRDO's chairman V. K. Saraswat said that India possessed

1782-496: A year, but most should burn up in the atmosphere within several weeks. Brian Weeden of Secure World Foundation agreed, but warned about the possibility of some fragments getting boosted to higher orbits. US Air Force Space Command said that it was tracking 270 pieces of debris from the test. Following the test, acting United States Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan warned about the risks of space debris caused by ASAT tests, but later added that he did not expect debris from

1881-464: Is a deterrent and is not directed against any nation. In a statement released after the test, Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that the test was conducted at low altitude to ensure that the resulting debris would "decay and fall back onto the Earth within weeks". According to Jonathan McDowell , an astrophysicist at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , some debris might persist for

1980-502: Is an anti-ballistic missile, currently in service. It provides exo-atmospheric interception of ballistic missiles. It is also believed (by experts such as Prof. Yitzhak Ben Yisrael, chairman of the Israel Space Agency ), that it will operate as an ASAT. While it has been suggested that a country intercepting the satellites of another country in the event of a conflict could seriously hinder the latter's military operations,

2079-665: Is believed to have deployed a road mobile nuclear ICBM, the Jericho III , which entered service in 2008; an upgraded version is in development. India successfully test fired Agni V , with a strike range of more than 5,000 km (3,100 mi) on 19 April 2012, claiming entry into the ICBM club. The missile's actual range is speculated by foreign researchers to be up to 8,000 km (5,000 mi) with India having downplayed its capabilities to avoid causing concern to other countries. On 15 December 2022, first night trial of Agni-V

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2178-504: Is certain is that at the beginning of April 1960, Nikita Khrushchev held a meeting at his summer residence in Crimea, discussing an array of defence industry issues. Here, Chelomei outlined his rocket and spacecraft program, and received a go-ahead to start development of the UR-200 rocket, one of its many roles being the launcher for his anti-satellite project. The decision to start work on

2277-526: Is no rocket exhaust or other emissions to mark its position to defenders. The high speeds of the warheads make them difficult to intercept and allow for little warning, striking targets many thousands of kilometers away from the launch site (and due to the possible locations of the submarines: anywhere in the world) within approximately 30 minutes. Many authorities say that missiles also release aluminized balloons, electronic noisemakers, and other decoys intended to confuse interception devices and radars . As

2376-629: Is reported to be restarting development in 2012. Three more launches were reportedly held in December 2016, on 26 March 2018, and on 23 December 2018—the latter two from a TEL. A new type of ASAT missile was seen carried by a MiG-31 in September 2018. On 15 April 2020, US officials said Russia conducted a direct ascent anti-satellite missile test that could take out spacecraft or satellites in low Earth orbit . A new test launch took place on 16 December 2020. In November 2021, Kosmos 1408

2475-649: The 12th Five Year Plan , drawing all the various parts of the project together under the control of GUKOS and matching the US proposed deployment date of 2000. Ultimately, the Soviet Union approached the point of experimental implementation of orbital laser platforms with the (failed) launch of Polyus . Both countries began to reduce expenditure from 1989 and the Russian Federation unilaterally discontinued all SDI research in 1992. Research and Development (both of ASAT systems and other space based/deployed weapons) has, however, reported to have been resumed under

2574-450: The Arrow missile in 1998, but it is mainly designed to intercept shorter-ranged theater ballistic missiles, not ICBMs. The Alaska-based United States national missile defense system attained initial operational capability in 2004. ICBMs can be deployed from multiple platforms: The last three kinds are mobile and therefore hard to detect prior to a missile launch. During storage, one of

2673-510: The Kuaizhou 2 natural disaster monitoring satellite, was launched at 06:37 UTC on 21 November 2014, again from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center . The first commercial launch inaugurated the Kuaizhou 1A version on 9 January 2017, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center . It placed three small satellites into a polar orbit. The maiden launch of Kuaizhou 11 was on 10 July 2020. The launch was

2772-511: The LGM-30 Minuteman , Polaris and Skybolt . Modern ICBMs tend to be smaller than their ancestors, due to increased accuracy and smaller and lighter warheads, and use solid fuels, making them less useful as orbital launch vehicles. The Western view of the deployment of these systems was governed by the strategic theory of mutual assured destruction . In the 1950s and 1960s, development began on anti-ballistic missile systems by both

2871-498: The USSR /Russia preferred ICBM designs that use hypergolic liquid fuels, which can be stored at room temperature for more than a few years. Once the booster falls away, the remaining "bus" releases several warheads, each of which continues on its own unpowered ballistic trajectory , much like an artillery shell or cannonball. The warhead is encased in a cone-shaped reentry vehicle and is difficult to detect in this phase of flight as there

2970-464: The cryogenic fuel liquid oxygen boiled off and caused ice formation, and therefore fueling the rocket was necessary before launch. This procedure was a source of significant operational delay and might allow the missiles to be destroyed by enemy counterparts before they could be used. To resolve this problem Nazi Germany invented the missile silo that protected the missile from Strategic Bombing and also hid fueling operations underground. Although

3069-409: The 32-metre-tall (105 ft) Unha-3 rocket. The United States claimed that the launch was in fact a way to test an ICBM. (See Timeline of first orbital launches by country .) In early July 2017, North Korea claimed for the first time to have tested successfully an ICBM capable of carrying a large thermonuclear warhead. In July 2014, China announced the development of its newest generation of ICBM,

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3168-872: The A9/A10 rocket was tested a few times in January and February 1945. After the war, the US executed Operation Paperclip , which took von Braun and hundreds of other leading Nazi scientists to the United States to develop IRBMs , ICBMs, and launchers for the US Army. This technology was predicted by US General of the Army Hap Arnold , who wrote in 1943: Someday, not too distant, there can come streaking out of somewhere – we won't be able to hear it, it will come so fast – some kind of gadget with an explosive so powerful that one projectile will be able to wipe out completely this city of Washington. After World War II,

3267-703: The American missile defense batteries in California and Alaska. New development of ICBM technology are ICBMs able to carry hypersonic glide vehicles as a payload such as RS-28 Sarmat . On 12 March 2024 India announced that it had joined a very limited group of countries, which are capable of firing multiple warheads on a single ICBM. The announcement came after successfully testing multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology. [REDACTED] Russia [REDACTED] Russia [REDACTED] Russia [REDACTED] Russia Russia,

3366-651: The Americans and Soviets. Such systems were restricted by the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty . The first successful ABM test was conducted by the Soviets in 1961, which later deployed a fully operational system defending Moscow in the 1970s (see Moscow ABM system ). The 1972 SALT treaty froze the number of ICBM launchers of both the Americans and the Soviets at existing levels and allowed new submarine -based SLBM launchers only if an equal number of land-based ICBM launchers were dismantled. Subsequent talks, called SALT II, were held from 1972 to 1979 and actually reduced

3465-521: The Americans and the Soviets started rocket research programs based on the V-2 and other German wartime designs. Each branch of the US military started its own programs, leading to considerable duplication of effort. In the Soviet Union, rocket research was centrally organized although several teams worked on different designs. The US initiated ICBM research in 1946 with the RTV-A-2 Hiroc project. This

3564-676: The Atlas. Due to the improvements in engine technology and guidance systems the Titan I overtook the Atlas. In the Soviet Union, early development was focused on missiles able to attack European targets. That changed in 1953, when Sergei Korolyov was directed to start development of a true ICBM able to deliver newly developed hydrogen bombs. Given steady funding throughout, the R-7 developed with some speed. The first launch took place on 15 May 1957 and led to an unintended crash 400 km (250 mi) from

3663-522: The Dongfeng-41 ( DF-41 ), which has a range of 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles), capable of reaching the United States, and which analysts believe is capable of being outfitted with MIRV technology. Most countries in the early stages of developing ICBMs have used liquid propellants, with the known exceptions being the Indian Agni-V , the planned but cancelled South African RSA-4 ICBM, and

3762-785: The Experimental Spacecraft System ( USA-165 ), the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE), and the space-based interceptor (SBI). After the collapse of the Soviet Union , the MiG-31D project was put on hold due to reduced defence expenditures. However, in August 2009, Alexander Zelin announced that the Russian Air Force had resumed this program. The Sokol Eshelon is a prototype laser system based on an A-60 airplane which

3861-539: The IS warhead's shrapnel.In November 1968, 4 years after Polyot 1 and 2 were tested for a potential Satellite intercept, Kosmos 248 was successfully destroyed by Kosmos 252 which came within the 5km 'kill radius' and destroyed Kosmos 248 by detonating it's warhead. A total of 23 launches have been identified as being part of the IS test series. The system was declared operational in February 1973. Testing resumed in 1976 as

3960-569: The Indian test to last. The United States Department of State acknowledged Ministry of External Affairs ' statement on space debris and reiterated its intention to pursue shared interests in space including on space security with India. Russia acknowledged India's statement on the test not being targeted against any nation and invited India to join the Russian–Chinese proposal for a treaty against weaponisation of space . The Arrow 3 or Hetz 3

4059-612: The Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha and hit its target Microsat-R after 168 seconds. The operation was named Mission Shakti . The missile system was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)—a research wing of the Indian defence services. With this test, India became the fourth nation with anti-satellite missile capabilities. India stated that this capability

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4158-492: The NCA to have the battle group withdraw or stand down, but ASATs could only achieve the opposite. Moreover, even if somehow a communications satellite were hit, a battle group could still perform its missions in the absence of direct guidance from the NCA. On November 1, 2022, a UN working group adopted for the first time a resolution calling on countries to ban destructive anti-satellite missile tests. Although not legally binding,

4257-824: The Naval Telecommunications System (NTS) used by the US Navy uses three elements: tactical communications among a battle group; long-haul communications between shore-based forward Naval Communications Stations (NAVCOMSTAs) and deployed afloat units; and strategic communication connecting NAVCOMSTAs with National Command Authorities (NCA). The first two elements use line-of-sight (25–30 km (13–16 nmi; 16–19 mi)) and extended line-of-sight (300–500 km (160–270 nmi; 190–310 mi)) radios respectively, so only strategic communications are dependent on satellites. China would prefer to cut off deployed units from each other and then negotiate with

4356-530: The Soviet Union used ground-launched missiles from the 1950s; many more exotic proposals came afterwards. In the late 1950s, the US Air Force started a series of advanced strategic missile projects under the designation Weapon System WS-199A. One of the projects studied under the 199A umbrella was Martin 's Bold Orion air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) for the B-47 Stratojet , based on

4455-480: The Soviet program. In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union also started developing a counterpart to the US air-launched ASAT system, using modified MiG-31D 'Foxhounds' (at least six of which were completed) as the launch platform. The system was called 30P6 "Kontakt", the missile used is 79M6. The USSR also experimented with arming the Almaz space stations with Rikhter R-23 aircraft auto-cannons. Another Soviet design

4554-459: The Soviet testing of their first thermonuclear weapon , but it was not until 1954 that the Atlas missile program was given the highest national priority. The Atlas A first flew on 11 June 1957; the flight lasted only about 24 seconds before the rocket exploded. The first successful flight of an Atlas missile to full range occurred 28 November 1958. The first armed version of the Atlas, the Atlas D,

4653-476: The US military. While most of the debris re-entered the Earth's atmosphere within a few months, a few pieces lasted slightly longer because they were thrown into higher orbits. The final piece of detectable USA-193 debris re-entered on 28 October 2009. According to the US government, the primary reason for destroying the satellite was the approximately 450 kg (1000 lb) of toxic hydrazine fuel contained on board, which could pose health risks to persons in

4752-653: The US project had evolved into an extended four-stage development. The initial stage would consist of the Brilliant Pebbles defense system, a satellite constellation of 4,600 kinetic interceptors (KE ASAT) of 45 kg (100 lb) each in Low Earth orbit and their associated tracking systems. The next stage would deploy the larger platforms and the following phases would include the laser and charged particle beam weapons that would be developed by that time from existing projects such as MIRACL . The first stage

4851-685: The United States and the Soviet Union agreed in the START I treaty to reduce their deployed ICBMs and attributed warheads. As of 2016 , all five of the nations with permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council have fully operational long-range ballistic missile systems; Russia, the United States, and China also have land-based ICBMs (the US missiles are silo-based, while China and Russia have both silo and road-mobile ( DF-31 , RT-2PM2 Topol-M missiles). Israel

4950-481: The additional warheads; hence, most ABM system proposals have been judged to be impractical. The first operational ABM systems were deployed in the United States during the 1970s. The Safeguard ABM facility, located in North Dakota, was operational from 1975 to 1976. The Soviets deployed their ABM-1 Galosh system around Moscow in the 1970s, which remains in service. Israel deployed a national ABM system based on

5049-419: The critical technologies for an ASAT weapon from radars and interceptors developed for Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme . In July 2012, Ajay Lele, an Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses fellow, wrote that an ASAT test would bolster India's position if an international regime to control the proliferation of ASATs similar to NPT were to be established. He suggested that a low-orbit test against

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5148-863: The deterrent force close to home where it would be difficult to attack. Attacks against military targets (especially hardened ones) demanded the use of a more precise, crewed bomber . Second- and third-generation designs (such as the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ) dramatically improved accuracy to the point where even the smallest point targets can be successfully attacked. ICBMs are differentiated by having greater range and speed than other ballistic missiles: intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) and tactical ballistic missiles . The first practical design for an ICBM grew out of Nazi Germany 's V-2 rocket program. The liquid-fueled V-2, designed by Wernher von Braun and his team,

5247-410: The ease of shooting down orbiting satellites has been questioned. Although satellites have been successfully intercepted at low orbiting altitudes, the tracking of military satellites for a length of time could be complicated by defensive measures like inclination changes. Depending on the level of tracking capabilities, the interceptor would have to pre-determine the point of impact while compensating for

5346-622: The explosions on electronic equipment, and during the Starfish Prime test in 1962 the EMP from a 1.4-megaton-of-TNT (5.9 PJ) warhead detonated over the Pacific damaged three satellites and also disrupted power transmission and communications across the Pacific. Further testing of weapons effects was carried out under the DOMINIC I series. An adapted version of the nuclear armed Nike Zeus

5445-401: The government of Vladimir Putin as a counter to renewed US Strategic Defense efforts post Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty . However, the status of these efforts, or indeed how they are being funded through National Reconnaissance Office projects of record, remains unclear. The US has begun working on a number of programs which could be foundational for a space-based ASAT. These programs include

5544-554: The ground before being able to launch in rapid succession. The constellation of 30 GPS satellites provides redundancy where at least four satellites can be received in six orbital planes at any one time, so an attacker would need to disable at least six satellites to disrupt the network. However, even if the attack is successful, signal degradation only lasts for 95 minutes and backup inertial navigation systems (INS) would still be available for relatively accurate movement as well as laser guidance for weapons targeting. For communications,

5643-442: The immediate vicinity of the crash site should any significant amount survive the re-entry. On 20 February 2008, it was announced that the launch was carried out successfully and an explosion was observed consistent with the destruction of the hydrazine fuel tank. The United States has since ceased the testing of direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, having outlawed the practice in 2022. The specter of bombardment satellites and

5742-400: The launch vehicle is deployed by a Transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicle to a secure location. Launch readiness time can be as short as several hours. Anti-satellite weapon Anti-satellite weapons ( ASAT ) are space weapons designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic or tactical purposes. Although no ASAT system has yet been utilized in warfare ,

5841-578: The most important features of the missile is its serviceability. One of the key features of the first computer-controlled ICBM, the Minuteman missile , was that it could quickly and easily use its computer to test itself. After launch, a booster pushes the missile and then falls away. Most modern boosters are Solid-propellant rocket motors , which can be stored easily for long periods of time. Early missiles used liquid-fueled rocket motors . Many liquid-fueled ICBMs could not be kept fueled at all times as

5940-713: The nearby detonation of friendly warheads), one neutron-resistant material developed for this purpose in the UK is three-dimensional quartz phenolic . Circular error probable is crucial, because halving the circular error probable decreases the needed warhead energy by a factor of four . Accuracy is limited by the accuracy of the navigation system and the available geodetic information. Strategic missile systems are thought to use custom integrated circuits designed to calculate navigational differential equations thousands to millions of FLOPS in order to reduce navigational errors caused by calculation alone. These circuits are usually

6039-566: The now in service Israeli Jericho III . The RS-28 Sarmat (Russian: РС-28 Сармат; NATO reporting name : SATAN 2), is a Russian liquid-fueled , MIRV -equipped, super-heavy thermonuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile in development by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau from 2009, intended to replace the previous R-36 missile . Its large payload would allow for up to 10 heavy warheads or 15 lighter ones or up to 24 hypersonic glide vehicles Yu-74 , or

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6138-474: The nuclear warhead reenters the Earth's atmosphere, its high speed causes compression of the air, leading to a dramatic rise in temperature which would destroy it, if it were not shielded in some way. In one design, warhead components are contained within an aluminium honeycomb substructure , sheathed in a pyrolytic carbon - epoxy synthetic resin composite material heat shield. Warheads are also often radiation-hardened (to protect against nuclear armed ABMs or

6237-649: The number of nuclear warheads held by the US and Soviets. SALT II was never ratified by the US Senate , but its terms were honored by both sides until 1986, when the Reagan administration "withdrew" after it had accused the Soviets of violating the pact. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan launched the Strategic Defense Initiative as well as the MX and Midgetman ICBM programs. China developed

6336-537: The pilot's head-up display , and allowed for mid-course updates via a data link . The first launch of the new anti-satellite missile took place in January 1984. The first, and only, successful interception was on 13 September 1985. The F-15 took off from Edwards Air Force Base , climbed to 11 613  m ( 38 100  ft) and vertically launched the missile at the Solwind P78-1 , a US gamma ray spectroscopy satellite orbiting at 555 km (345 mi), which

6435-570: The potential to be used as an ASAT weapon, the Dong Neng-3, with state media reporting that the test was purely defensive and it achieved its desired objectives. In a televised press briefing during the 97th Indian Science Congress held in Thiruvananthapuram, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Director General Rupesh announced that India was developing the necessary technology that could be combined to produce

6534-531: The rapid ability to replace Chinese satellites that might be damaged or destroyed in an act of aggression in orbit. The vehicle uses mobile launch platform. The launch vehicle is operated by the PLA Rocket Force . The maiden flight of Kuaizhou 1 launch vehicle, orbiting the Kuaizhou 1 natural disaster monitoring satellite, occurred on 25 September 2013, launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center . Second flight of Kuaizhou 1 launch vehicle, orbiting

6633-472: The reality of ballistic missiles stimulated the Soviet Union to explore defensive space weapons. The Soviet Union first tested the Polyot interceptor in 1963 and successfully tested an orbital anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon in 1968. According to some accounts, Sergei Korolev started some work on the concept in 1956 at his OKB-1 , while others attribute the work to Vladimir Chelomei 's OKB-52 around 1959. What

6732-399: The resolution reflects an increase in international political support for a ban on these weapons. Other countries have noted that the United States has already tested its ASAT destruction capability and, therefore, this U.S.-backed resolution limits the progress of the other countries. Strategic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM ) is a ballistic missile with

6831-456: The rocket motor from the Sergeant missile . Twelve test launches were carried out between 26 May 1958 and 13 October 1959, but these were generally unsuccessful and further work as an ALBM ended. The system was then modified with the addition of an Altair upper stage to create an anti-satellite weapon with a 1770-kilometre (1100 mi) range. Only one test flight of the anti-satellite mission

6930-479: The same SC-19 system was also tested in 2005, 2006, 2010, and 2013. In January 2007 China demonstrated a satellite knock out whose detonation alone caused more than 40,000 new chunks of debris with a diameter larger than one centimeter and a sudden increase in the total amount of debris in orbit. In May 2013, the Chinese government announced the launch of a suborbital rocket carrying a scientific payload to study

7029-432: The same orbit. Launch preparations are designed to take very little time, and the launch can be conducted on rough terrain. The rocket's low requirements for launch help with cost savings, yielding a launch price under US$ 10,000 per kilogram of payload. This price level is very competitive in the international market. Satellites can be installed on a Kuaizhou launch vehicle and stored in a maintenance facility. Once needed,

7128-684: The satellite had failed. In January 2008, it was noted that the satellite was decaying from orbit at a rate of 500 m (1640 ft) per day. After publicly announcing its intention to do so a week earlier, on 21 February 2008, the US Navy destroyed USA-193 in Operation Burnt Frost , using a ship-fired RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 about 247 km (153 mi) above the Pacific Ocean. That test produced 174 pieces of orbital debris large enough to detect that were cataloged by

7227-433: The satellite's lateral movement and the time for the interceptor to climb and move. US intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites orbit at about 800 km (500 mi) high and move at 7.5 km/s (4.7 mi/s), so if conflict was to break out between the United States and China, a Chinese Intermediate-range ballistic missile would need to compensate for 1350 km (840 mi) of movement in

7326-469: The site. The first successful test followed on 21 August 1957; the R-7 flew over 6,000 km (3,700 mi) and became the world's first ICBM. The first strategic-missile unit became operational on 9 February 1959 at Plesetsk in north-west Russia. It was the same R-7 launch vehicle that placed the first artificial satellite in space, Sputnik , on 4 October 1957. The first human spaceflight in history

7425-486: The stakes with the Apollo program , which used Saturn rocket technology that had been funded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower . These early ICBMs also formed the basis of many space launch systems. Examples include R-7 , Atlas , Redstone , Titan , and Proton , which was derived from the earlier ICBMs but never deployed as an ICBM. The Eisenhower administration supported the development of solid-fueled missiles such as

7524-563: The start of the GAM-87 Skybolt project. Simultaneous US Navy projects were also abandoned although smaller projects did continue until the early 1970s. The use of high-altitude nuclear explosions to destroy satellites was considered after the tests of the first conventional missile systems in the 1960s. During the Hardtack Teak test in 1958 observers noted the damaging effects of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) caused by

7623-598: The targeted satellite. It takes 90 to 200 minutes (or one to two orbits) for the missile interceptor to get close enough to its target. The missile is guided by an on-board radar. The interceptor, which weighs 1400 kg (3086 lb), may be effective up to one kilometre from a target. Delays in the UR-200 missile program prompted Chelomei to request R-7 rockets for prototype testing of the IS. The Polyot 1 and 2, launched on 1 November 1963 and 12 April 1964 respectively, carried out one such intercept test in early 1964. Later in

7722-404: The technologies developed may be useful also for anti-satellite use. The Strategic Defense Initiative gave the US and Soviet ASAT programs a major boost; ASAT projects were adapted for ABM use and the reverse was also true. The initial US plan was to use the already-developed MHV as the basis for a space based constellation of about 40 platforms deploying up to 1,500 kinetic interceptors. By 1988

7821-716: The three minutes it takes to boost to that altitude. However, even if the ISR satellite is knocked out, the US possesses an extensive array of crewed and uncrewed ISR aircraft that could perform missions at standoff ranges from Chinese land-based air defences. Global Positioning System and communications satellites orbit at higher altitudes of 20 000  km ( 12 000  mi) and 36 000  km ( 22 000  mi) respectively, and this puts them out of range of solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles . Liquid-fuelled space launch vehicles could reach those altitudes, but they are more time-consuming to launch and could be attacked on

7920-428: The trajectory which optimizes range for a given amount of payload (the minimum-energy trajectory ); an alternative is a depressed trajectory , which allows less payload, shorter flight time, and has a much lower apogee. Modern ICBMs typically carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles ( MIRVs ), each of which carries a separate nuclear warhead , allowing a single missile to hit multiple targets. MIRV

8019-447: The upper ionosphere. However, US government sources described it as the first test of a new ground-based ASAT system. An open source analysis by Secure World Foundation , based in part on commercial satellite imagery, found that it may indeed have been a test of a new ASAT system that could potentially threaten US satellites in geostationary Earth orbit . Similarly on 5 February 2018, China tested an exoatmospheric ballistic missile with

8118-544: The weapon, as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov (IS) (lit. "destroyer of satellites") program, was made in March 1961. The IS system was "co-orbital", approaching its target over time and then exploding a shrapnel warhead close enough to kill it. The missile was launched when a target satellite's ground track rises above the launch site. Once the satellite is detected, the missile is launched into orbit close to

8217-591: The year Khrushchev cancelled the UR-200 in favour of the R-36, forcing the IS to switch to this launcher, whose space launcher version was developed as the Tsyklon-2 . Delays in that program led to the introduction of a simpler version, the 2A, which launched its first IS test on 27 October 1967, and a second on 28 April 1968. Further tests carried out against a special target spacecraft, the DS-P1-M, which recorded hits by

8316-432: Was a three-stage effort with the ICBM development not starting until the third stage. However, funding was cut in 1948 after only three partially successful launches of the second stage design, that was used to test variations of the V-2 design. With overwhelming air superiority and truly intercontinental bombers, the newly formed US Air Force did not take the problem of ICBM development seriously. Things changed in 1953 with

8415-518: Was accomplished on a derivative of R-7, Vostok , on 12 April 1961 , by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin . A heavily modernized version of the R-7 is still used as the launch vehicle for the Soviet/Russian Soyuz spacecraft , marking more than 60 years of operational history of Sergei Korolyov 's original rocket design. The R-7 and Atlas each required a large launch facility, making them vulnerable to attack, and could not be kept in

8514-534: Was an outgrowth of the rapidly shrinking size and weight of modern warheads and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties ( SALT I and SALT II ), which imposed limitations on the number of launch vehicles. It has also proved to be an "easy answer" to proposed deployments of anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems: It is far less expensive to add more warheads to an existing missile system than to build an ABM system capable of shooting down

8613-487: Was based on more conventional lasers or masers and developed to include the idea of a satellite with a fixed laser and a deployable mirror for targeting. LLNL continued to consider more edgy technology but their X-ray laser system development was cancelled in 1977 (although research into X-ray lasers was resurrected during the 1980s as part of the SDI ). ASATs were generally given low priority until 1982, when information about

8712-621: Was carried out, making a mock attack on the Explorer 6 at an altitude of 251 km (156 mi). To record its flight path, the Bold Orion transmitted telemetry to the ground, ejected flares to aid visual tracking, and was continuously tracked by radar. The missile successfully passed within 6.4 km (4 mi) of the satellite, which would be suitable for use with a nuclear weapon, but useless for conventional warheads. A similar project carried out under 199A, Lockheed 's High Virgo ,

8811-418: Was declared operational in January 1959 at Vandenberg, although it had not yet flown. The first test flight was carried out on 9 July 1959, and the missile was accepted for service on 1 September. The Titan I was another US multistage ICBM, with a successful launch February 5, 1959, with Titan I A3. Unlike the Atlas, the Titan I was a two-stage missile, rather than three. The Titan was larger, yet lighter, than

8910-416: Was decommissioned in compliance with arms control agreements, which address the maximum range of ICBMs and prohibit orbital or fractional-orbital weapons. However, according to reports, Russia is working on the new Sarmat ICBM which leverages Fractional Orbital Bombardment concepts to use a Southern polar approach instead of flying over the northern polar regions. Using that approach, it is theorized, avoids

9009-573: Was initially another ALBM for the B-58 Hustler , likewise based on the Sergeant. It too was adapted for the anti-satellite role, and made an attempted intercept on Explorer 5 on 22 September 1959. However, shortly after launch communications with the missile were lost and the camera packs could not be recovered to see if the test was successful. In any event, work on the WS-199 projects ended with

9108-454: Was intended to be completed by 2000 at a cost of around $ 125 billion. Research in the US and the Soviet Union was proving that the requirements, at least for orbital based energy weapon systems, were, with available technology, close to impossible. Nonetheless, the strategic implications of a possible unforeseen breakthrough in technology forced the USSR to initiate massive spending on research in

9207-413: Was launched in 1979. The last piece of debris from the destruction of Solwind P78-1, catalogued as COSPAR 1979-017GX, SATCAT 16564, deorbited 9 May 2004. Although successful, the program was cancelled in 1988. USA-193 was an American reconnaissance satellite , which was launched on 14 December 2006 by a Delta II rocket, from Vandenberg Air Force Base . It was reported about a month after launch that

9306-408: Was successfully carried out by SFC from Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. The missile is now 20 percent lighter because the use of composite materials rather than steel material. The range has been increased to 7,000 km. By 2012 there was speculation by some intelligence agencies that North Korea is developing an ICBM. North Korea successfully put a satellite into space on 12 December 2012 using

9405-575: Was successfully destroyed by a Russian anti-satellite missile in a test, causing a debris field that affected the International Space Station . In 2024, U.S. intelligence sources hinted that Russia was working on an anti-satellite weapon with some sort of nuclear technology, though it was unclear if it was a nuclear weapon or merely a nuclear-powered device. On 11 January 2007, the People's Republic of China successfully destroyed

9504-438: Was the 11F19DM Skif-DM/Polyus , an orbital megawatt laser that failed on launch in 1987. In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev visited Baikonur Cosmodrome and was shown an anti-satellite system called "Naryad" (Sentry), also known as 14F11, launched by UR-100N rockets. The era of the Strategic Defense Initiative (proposed in 1983) focused primarily on the development of systems to defend against nuclear warheads, however, some of

9603-482: Was the fourth satellite in the Fengyun series. The missile was launched from a mobile Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicle at Xichang ( 28°14′49″N 102°01′30″E  /  28.247°N 102.025°E  / 28.247; 102.025  ( Xichang Satellite Launch Center ) ) and the warhead destroyed the satellite in a head-on collision at an extremely high relative velocity. Evidence suggests that

9702-470: Was then widely used by Nazi Germany from mid-1944 until March 1945 to bomb British and Belgian cities, particularly Antwerp and London. Under Projekt Amerika, von Braun's team developed the A9/10 ICBM, intended for use in bombing New York and other American cities. Initially intended to be guided by radio, it was changed to be a piloted craft after the failure of Operation Elster . The second stage of

9801-598: Was used for an ASAT from 1962. Codenamed Mudflap , the missile was designated DM-15S and a single missile was deployed at the Kwajalein atoll until 1966 when the project was ended in favour of the USAF Thor -based Program 437 ASAT which was operational until 6 March 1975. Another area of research was directed-energy weapons , including a nuclear-explosion powered X-ray laser proposal developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in 1968. Other research

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