Space Operators Urge Nations to Avoid ASAT Testing

The Secure World Foundation on Tuesday released a statement urging nations to commit to not conducting destructive anti-satellite (ASAT) testing. Among the 26 signatories from nine nations were satcom operators Amazon’s Kuiper, Iridium and Eutelsat. The statement notes 37 nations that so far have committed not to conduct destructive ASAT testing and "encourage[s] additional countries to make similar declarations." "With each additional country to make this commitment, the world gets closer to a widely-accepted international norm that responsible space actors do not deliberately create long-lived debris that threatens the long-term sustainability of space activities," the statement reads. The U.S. made an ASAT commitment in 2022 (see 2204190057).