The vice president will make the announcement at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Vice President Kamala Harris will announce Monday that the Biden administration is setting a self-imposed ban on anti-satellite missile testing with the goal of making it an “international norm for responsible behavior in space.”
Harris’ announcement making the United States the first nation to ban such testing is expected during remarks at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The new order comes after Russia tested a direct ascent anti-satellite missile in November, generating a field of debris that threatened the International Space Station. China also conducted a similar test in 2007.
“The destruction of space objects through direct-ascent ASAT missile testing is reckless and irresponsible,” the vice president’s office stated in a release. “The long-lived debris created by these tests now threaten satellites and other space objects that are vital to all nations’ security, economic, and scientific interests, and increases risk to astronauts in space. Overall, these tests jeopardize the long-term sustainability of outer space and imperil the exploration and use of space by all nations.”
Ahead of her remarks, the vice president met with members of the United States Space Force and United States Space Command, receiving briefings on their work advancing U.S. national security.