The United States has condemned Russia for launching a "dangerous and irresponsible" missile attack that destroyed its own satellites and created a cloud of debris that forced the crew of the International Space Station to take rescue measures.
Officials said Washington had not been notified of the test and would talk to allies to respond, according to foreign news agencies.
It should be noted that this was the fourth experiment to hit a spacecraft from the ground.
The move has rekindled concerns about the arms race in space, which includes everything from laser weapons to satellites capable of taking others out of orbit.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blankenship said in a statement that "on November 15, 2021, the Russian Federation recklessly conducted a devastating test of a direct anti-satellite missile against one of its own satellites."
He said the experiment produced more than 1,500 tracking debris in orbit, which could produce millions of small debris.
The statement said four Americans, a German and two Russians at the space station had to take refuge in their return planes, a standard "safe haven" alarm system that could force evacuation in the event of an emergency.
The Russian space agency Roscosmus said in a tweet that the station later returned to "green" alert levels.
However, Anthony Blanken said in strong words that the danger is not over yet.
The US Secretary of State said: "The long-term debris created by this dangerous and irresponsible test will now endanger satellites and other space objects that are essential for all nations and will continue to plague all nations for decades to come." Important for security, economic and scientific interests.
The missile was aimed at the Cosmos 1408, a 1982 Soviet signals intelligence satellite and has been out of order for decades, according to space industry analyst company Seradata.
Anti-satellite weapons are state-of-the-art missiles that only a few countries have.
India was the last country to test a target in 2019, producing hundreds of pieces of "space debris" which was strongly criticized by other powers, including the United States.
