Promoting International Cooperation to Avoid Collisions Between Satellites
BENJAMIN SILVERSTEIN | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The deployment of large satellite constellations and periodic destructive anti-satellite weapons testing have elevated the chances of collisions between objects in orbit. Collisions involving satellites create debris that subsequently threaten the safety and security of other satellites. Satellite owners and operators, both commercial actors and governments alike, have growing stakes in reducing the likelihood of such collisions. It is impossible to sustain a thriving space sector, both now and for future generations, without systematically addressing these risks. Surprisingly, given the stakes involved, no comprehensive approaches to reduce the risks of collisions between satellites appear on the near- or even medium-term horizon.
Yoon Says South Korea Could ‘End North Korea Regime’ as ROK Shows Off Weapons
Ifang Bremer and Joon Ha Park | NK News
South Korea and the U.S. will “respond overwhelmingly to end the North Korean regime” if the DPRK carries out a nuclear attack, President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday, as the ROK military showed off a new missile interceptor for the first time. Yoon made the remarks in a speech during a morning military parade at Seoul Airport to mark the 75th Armed Forces Day, which celebrates the founding of the ROK military…He emphasized that the U.S and South Korea will deter North Korean nuclear threats through “an integrated response system that combines U.S. nuclear assets with [South Korean] non-nuclear assets,” repeating his past claims that the “ROK-U.S. alliance has been further strengthened into a nuclear-based alliance.”
Top Nuclear Experts Urge Biden to Not Allow Saudi Uranium Enrichment in Mega-deal
Barak Ravid | Axios
A bipartisan group of more than two dozen nuclear and Middle East experts sent a letter to President Biden on Thursday urging him not to allow Saudi Arabia to have a uranium enrichment program on its soil, according to the letter first shared with Axios…The 27 experts who signed the letter say they support normalization but think the kingdom doesn't need uranium enrichment to produce peaceful nuclear energy. "We urge you to reject the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's request for uranium enrichment as part of or separate from a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel," they wrote. The experts stressed that uranium enrichment on Saudi soil could bring Saudi Arabia to the brink of acquiring nuclear arms — a reality U.S. policy should keep from happening.
Satellite Images Show Increased Activity at Nuclear Test Sites in Russia, China and US
Eric Cheung, Brad Lendon and Ivan Watson | CNN
Russia, the United States and China have all built new facilities and dug new tunnels at their nuclear test sites in recent years, satellite images obtained exclusively by CNN show, at a time when tensions between the three major nuclear powers have risen to their highest in decades. While there is no evidence to suggest that Russia, the US or China is preparing for an imminent nuclear test, the images, obtained and provided by a prominent analyst in military nonproliferation studies, illustrate recent expansions at three nuclear test sites compared with just a few years ago.
US Aims to Create Nuclear Fusion Facility Within 10 Years, Energy Chief Granholm Says
STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN AND MATTHEW DALY | Associated Press
The Biden administration hopes to create a commercial nuclear fusion facility within 10 years as part of the nation’s transition to clean energy, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Monday. Calling nuclear fusion a pioneering technology, Granholm said President Joe Biden wants to harness fusion as a carbon-free energy source that can power homes and businesses. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility” that the U.S. could achieve Biden’s “decadal vision of commercial fusion,” Granholm said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press in Vienna.
Iran’s President Defends Uranium Enrichment After Europeans ‘Trampled on Their Commitments’
Nadeen Ebrahim | CNN
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has defended his country’s enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels, claiming it was a response to European states not living up to their end of the 2015 nuclear agreement. “In the beginning, we were not seeking 60% levels of enrichment. They (European states) trampled upon their commitments,” Raisi told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week. “What the Islamic Republic of Iran did was in response to a breaking of commitment of the signatories to the (2015) agreement.”