Preventing Satellite Armageddon: A Race Against Time

In early 2021, Micross Components, based in Melville, New York, received a unique request from an American aerospace company. They were asked to design components that could protect military system electronics from radiation produced by a nuclear detonation. After signing the contract, Micross began the work but was kept in the dark about the specific purpose of the system. However, details began to emerge earlier this year.

Mike Glass, a product manager at Micross, revealed that the puzzle pieces started falling into place when American officials began discussing Russian plans to place a nuclear weapon in space. This concern was sparked by a Russian satellite called Cosmos-2553, suspected of testing critical electronics roughly 2,000km above Earth’s surface. Although a nuclear detonation at this altitude wouldn’t directly impact Earth’s surface, it could potentially lead to a catastrophic event in space.

It is believed that if a nuclear weapon were to detonate in space, it could cause what Lieutenant-Colonel James McCue, a former official with America’s Defence Threat Reduction Agency, referred to as a “satellite Armageddon.” The destruction would be devastating for nearby spacecraft in lower orbits, immediately disabling them, with a larger number of satellites further away slowly succumbing to the radioactive aftermath. This scenario would have indiscriminate effects on all countries’ satellites.