In a recent alarming revelation by the White House, the United States' national security is threatened by an emerging anti-satellite weapon from Russia. While not capable of physical destruction on Earth, this weapon has the potential to severely disrupt US military and civilian operations in outer space, leading to concerns that it may be nuclear in nature. Such an attack could not only disable strategic satellites but also deal a major blow to the US economy by degrading space-based operations.

Lawmakers in Congress are raising the alarm, highlighting the urgent need for a solution. Fortunately, the US military already has a relatively simple countermeasure in place to tackle space-based weapons: sending a fighter jet to intercept and destroy the threat. This method has been successfully implemented in the past.

During the height of the Cold War in 1985, as the Soviet Union developed the ability to track US Navy warships with small satellites, Major General Wilbert "Doug" Pearson Jr. (ret.) became the only Air Force pilot to shoot down a satellite in orbit. The US military had been actively pursuing anti-satellite weapons since the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957, especially due to concerns about Russian space nukes. Various attempts were made, including air-launched ballistic missiles and adapted versions of ground-launched anti-ballistic missile systems, but none proved viable.

To counter the Soviet Union's "co-orbital" anti-satellite weapons in the late 1970s, the Carter administration initiated the development of the ASM-135 missile. The concept was straightforward: an aircraft would launch a two-stage missile that would release an autonomous "Miniature Homing Vehicle" to impact and break enemy satellites into pieces at high velocities.

Major General Pearson, then commander of the F-15 Anti-Satellite Combined Test Force, led successful tests of the ASM-135 missile. Eventually, on September 13, 1985, Pearson launched the missile from an altitude of 30,000 feet towards the Solwind P78-1 satellite, which was moving at a speed of 17,500 mph, some 300 miles above his aircraft. The missile quickly accelerated to 13,000 feet per second. Although Pearson couldn't visually confirm impact, ground control personnel were elated by the outcome.

Thirty-five years ago, Pearson proved that hitting a bullet-like object with another object traveling at high speeds was indeed possible. This feat demonstrated the potential effectiveness of the F-15 ASAT program. However, despite its success, the ASM-135 program faced funding cuts from Congress, leading to its discontinuation.

Since then, the US military has developed alternative methods to disable satellites, such as the use of a Standard Missile-3 by the USS Lake Erie to destroy a malfunctioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite in 2008. Nevertheless, Major General Pearson's achievement remains unparalleled, earning him the title of a "space ace."

Reflecting on the discontinued program, Pearson stated, "I don't know exactly what happened, but we demonstrated we could do it [...] we made it look relatively easy. It wasn't, but it looked that way."

While the US military possesses the capability to counter such threats, continued vigilance and investment in advanced technologies are crucial to ensuring the security of US assets in outer space.