Kosmos 1408 ASAT Test (2021) — Russia's Destructive Anti-Satellite Test

1,500+

Tracked Fragments

~480 km

Collision Altitude

~420 km

ISS Orbit Below

What Happened

On 15 November 2021, Russia launched a PL-19 Nudol direct-ascent anti-satellite missile that struck the defunct Kosmos 1408 (Tselina-D SIGINT satellite, launched 16 September 1982, ~2,200 kg). The collision occurred at approximately 480 km altitude, generating over 1,500 trackable debris fragments and potentially hundreds of thousands of smaller pieces.

Key Facts

Date	15 November 2021
Target	Kosmos 1408 (Tselina-D SIGINT satellite, COSPAR 1982-092A)
Target Mass	~2,200 kg
Weapon	PL-19 Nudol direct-ascent ASAT missile
Collision Altitude	~480 km
Tracked Fragments	1,500+ catalogued
ISS Altitude at Time	~420 km (just 60 km below the collision)
ISS Crew Aboard	7 (4 NASA, 1 ESA, 2 Roscosmos)

ISS Crew Sheltered

The debris cloud passed dangerously close to the ISS orbit (~420 km). On the day of the test, the seven-person Expedition 66 crew — NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Mark Vande Hei, ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov — were instructed to seal hatches and shelter in their docked Crew Dragon and Soyuz capsules during close passes of the debris cloud. This extraordinary step underscored the immediate danger.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson condemned the test, stating that it was "unthinkable" that Russia would endanger the lives of all astronauts aboard the ISS, including its own cosmonauts.

Debris Fate

Unlike the Fengyun-1C debris at 865 km, the Kosmos 1408 fragments at ~480 km experience significantly more atmospheric drag. Most fragments have been decaying steadily, with lower-altitude pieces re-entering within 2–4 years. However, higher-altitude fragments (boosted above 500 km by the collision energy) will persist for a decade or more. As of early 2026, a substantial portion of the debris has re-entered, but hundreds of fragments remain tracked in orbit.

Political Fallout

The test was a major catalyst for the United States' unilateral moratorium on destructive direct-ascent ASAT testing, announced by Vice President Kamala Harris in April 2022. Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, South Korea, the UK, and others subsequently joined the moratorium. The event also accelerated UN General Assembly discussions on norms of responsible behaviour in outer space, with a resolution calling for commitments against destructive ASAT testing passed in December 2022.

No confirmed impact on the ISS occurred. However, the debris cloud created repeated close approach events over subsequent weeks and months, and the threat level remained elevated for the ISS and other spacecraft in the 400–500 km altitude band.

Kosmos 1408 was at a convenient altitude for a direct-ascent ASAT weapon test. It is unclear whether the proximity to the ISS was deliberately disregarded or underestimated. The test was widely viewed as reckless, particularly because Russia's own cosmonauts were among those endangered.