VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. — Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a weeklong trip home to California on Monday with a stop at Vandenberg Space Force Base, where she said the U.S. would halt testing of satellite-killing missiles to reduce the threat posed by space debris.
The self-imposed ban comes amid rising tensions with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s decision in November to test a missile that blew up one of its own satellites. That explosion polluted low-Earth orbit with more than 1,500 pieces of dangerous debris, forcing the crew of the International Space Station to take shelter.
Even a tiny bit of such space junk could damage or destroy a satellite, space station or spacecraft. The U.S. and its allies have sharply criticized the Kremlin over the test, with Harris in December calling it “an irresponsible act.” China used a missile in 2007 to destroy one of its satellites, a blast that continues to litter space with nearly 3,000 pieces of debris.
