In a space tit-for-tat, Russian government is planning to publish a database of all known satellites—including secret American ones. The move would shed light on classified satellite programs, potentially allowing America's enemies to evade detection from above.

According to Russian state news agency Izvestia, the Russian delegation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has proposed a United Nations database on space objects. The data would be donated by Russia as a "public service" and catalog all known satellites and "space debris", which ranges from tools lost by astronauts to retired satellites.

The database would be similar to the one currently curated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD's database is generally considered the authority on space objects, but leaves out American, French, German, Israeli, Japanese and other allied military satellites. It includes Russian satellites.

While exposing U.S. military satellites isn't unusual—private citizens discovered the latest U.S. spy satellite within a matter of days with little more than a camera taking long exposures—this might be the first time a foreign government has done so. China has publicly supported the Russian initiative.

Russia claims their global network of observatories in 31 countries results in a database with 40 percent more objects that the NORAD database. The database could inform relevant parties of potentially dangerous events such as collisions.

In other words, it's for safety!

The tracks of most—if not all—American spy satellites are known to major governments, but countries with limited means, such as North Korea, are less informed about them. Terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, if they know anything, have to rely on incomplete public databases.

A photo taken in 1984 by a US spy satellite of a Soviet aircraft carrier under construction.

Knowing a spy satellite's predicted path makes it possible to hide things from prying eyes above. Airplanes, particularly secret ones, can be stored inside hangars, steam-producing power plants can be turned off, vehicles can be covered with camouflage netting, and so on.

Izvestia claims Moscow reached out to Washington to create a single, comprehensive database, but that the Americans "wanted to preserve their monopoly." That makes little sense considering if the Russian database really did contain 40 percent more objects it would almost certainly become the dominant database.

The Russian proposal comes as experts warn that the U.S. risks a " Space Pearl Harbor " by adversaries such as Russia and China. The United States relies on its networks of intelligence gathering, communications, and navigation satellites to preserve its military edge, but those very satellites are extremely vulnerable to attack in wartime. Both Russia and China are believed to be developing anti-satellite weapons.

Via Izvestia

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