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Russia tested an anti-satellite missile on Monday, destroying one of its own satellites in orbit. The test created a vast cloud of debris that continued to orbit the Earth, and some of the material dangerously approached the International Space Station, forcing the astronauts to take shelter for hours in a pair of spacecraft that could return them to Earth.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken described the missile attack as “recklessly carried out” on Monday.

“The test has produced more than 1,500 traceable orbital debris so far and will likely produce hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris,” he added. The U.S. Space Command said in a statement that “the debris will remain in orbit for years and potentially decades, posing a significant risk to crews on the International Space Station and other manned spaceflight activities.”

“It’s sad that the Russians are doing this,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in an interview. He said NASA officials spoke to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos about the anti-satellite test. Mr. Nelson said that NASA official Joel Montalbano, who oversees the space station, as well as NASA’s third highest-ranking official, Bob Cabana, are in Moscow and plan to discuss the test with their Russian counterparts tomorrow.

Mr. Nelson also noted that the incident threatened the country. Three astronauts now aboard China’s Tiangong space station.

Russian military officials did not respond to requests for comment on the weapons test. But it happened in such a moment that Military tensions between Russia and the United States escalate. Last Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said that Russia is building troops on the Ukrainian border. Mr Blinken said aggressive actions at the border “will cause great concern to the United States”.

NASA and Roscosmos, which jointly run the space station and protect the astronauts inside, have been largely insulated from military tensions between Washington and Moscow. But these two geopolitical areas clashed after Monday’s weapons test.

Mr. Nelson said Roscosmos officials had “reason to believe” that they were not aware that the Russian Ministry of Defense was planning to launch an anti-satellite missile.

“And if anyone had known about it, they should have raised Cain because of the threats to the astronauts and cosmonauts on the space station,” he said.

Russian authorities issued airspace notices on Monday and warned aircraft to avoid the Plesetsk launch site, about 650 miles north of Moscow. this is the same place an earlier Russian anti-satellite missile took off in December 2020, but this test did not hit any targets. Notices on Monday indicated that a launch would take place early Monday morning, as a former Russian surveillance satellite was preparing to cross the area.

The missile struck the satellite Cosmos 1408, tearing it apart.

At the same time, NASA astronauts on the space station were suddenly awakened by a mission control official in Houston who had instructed the astronauts to take shelter on their spacecraft.

“Hey Mark, good morning, sorry for the early call,” said a NASA official in Houston, speaking to Mark Vande Hei, one of the four NASA astronauts currently aboard the space station. “We were recently notified of a satellite malfunction and you need to start reviewing the safe zone procedure.”

During Monday’s event, astronauts closed various hatches between compartments on the station and boarded the spacecraft docked at the orbital outpost that could send them back to Earth in the event of an accident. Currently, there are two spacecraft, a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and a Russian Soyuz capsule, that can enter the Earth’s atmosphere and carry the crew to the surface.

Commander Raja Chari a NASA mission that brought four astronauts to the space station last week, boarded the Crew Dragon spacecraft and turned it on when it needed to displace.

The astronauts stayed in the capsules for about two hours, from 2am to 4am. object.” A spokesperson for the agency declined to provide details and adjourned it to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Anti-satellite tests produce clouds of debris that can remain in space for decades. Russia’s strike on Monday created the largest new field of space junk since 2007, when China launched a missile at one of its former weather satellites. This weapons test created roughly 2,300 pieces of debris.

The United States conducted its own weapons test in 2008, which produced an orbital cloud of about 400 pieces. A Indian weapons testing in 2019 about left Piece of debris up to the 2008 American test.

The NASA administrator at the time, Jim Bridenstine, said the Indian test put the space station at risk. And just last week, NASA and Russian officials had to relocate the International Space Station’s orbital location. Dodge a piece of debris from the 2007 Chinese test.

But weapons testing isn’t the only source of debris in space. aging satellites not properly removed from orbit space junk diseases of the world. Experts are also concerned about the risks posed by private companies, most of them US-based, that plan to launch. thousands of satellites this will beam high speed internet service to Earth.

U.S. military officials have increased their footprint in space in recent years as the low-Earth orbit rivalry between Washington, Russia, and China, including creating the U.S. Space Force as a separate branch of the armed forces. The Pentagon has long criticized Russia for its space activities, which include moving satellites too close to US spy satellites and launching satellites using smaller, maneuverable spacecraft without warning.

“Russia’s direct escalating anti-satellite weapons tests clearly demonstrate that Russia continues to pursue counter-space weapons systems that undermine strategic stability and pose a threat to all nations,” said James Dickinson, commander of the U.S. Space Command.

Some astronauts on the space station seemed to take the day’s events step-by-step. Mr. Vande Hei, who has been in orbit since April, thanked NASA’s mission control in Houston for a “crazy but well-coordinated day” after the crew abandoned their lifeboats.

“It was an absolutely fantastic way to bond with the crew,” he said.

Michael Crowley contributed news from Washington, and Andrew Kramer, Alina Lobzina and Oleg Matsnev contributed news from Moscow.