The Soviet Union also researched innovative ways to gain supremacy in space. Two of their most notable efforts have been the R-36ORB Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) and the Polyus Orbital Weapons System. International treaties governing outer space limit or regulate conflicts in outer space and limit the installation of weapons systems, in particular nuclear weapons. The U.S. may need to prepare for the possibility of Russia trying to disrupt both the U.S. government and commercial remote sensing facilities, Gleason said Jan. 15 at an Aerospace Corp. press conference in Arlington, Virginia. „During the testing of the latest space technology, one of the national satellites equipped with the special equipment of small spacecraft was closely examined,” the ministry said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Space debris can be addressed through technological innovation and international cooperation, as has been done for persistent organic pollutants, mercury and chlorofluorocarbons. To avoid out-of-control space debris, satellites must be deorbited at the end of their operation, placed in graveyard orbit or removed by specially designed spacecraft. Russia, the United States and other countries are already collaborating on this issue: more than 23,000 pieces of space debris have been detected, tracked and catalogued using radars and ground-based and space-based telescopes. As already said, this information is widespread, as collision warning can give satellites time at risk of being put into safer orbit by on-board engines. In addition, NASA and European, Japanese and Chinese space agencies are exploring ways to remove decomposed satellites from orbit. European Space Agency, 2016; Okada, reference Okada2017; Wen et al., reference Wen, Liwei, Shanghong, Yingwu, Wang and Hou2018). Perhaps more importantly, after seeing the consequences of china`s 2007 test, states refrained from testing ASAT weapons in a way that could cause long-lasting space debris. 7.1.f. By participating in the management mechanisms, NASA and RSA agree to achieve a community on the space station, as set out in the general security requirements of the space station in accordance with Article 10. .