Russia's tailgating was "really irresponsible", American general James H. Dickinson, in charge of US Space Command, also told the NBC broadcaster on 10 August, in the only high-level comment so far on the satellite duel.Russia also blew up one of its own satellites with a ground-launched missile called Nudol in a test in November 2021 — a display of aggression just three months before invading Ukraine.Vorontsov was referring to dual-use civilian satellites, such as Space-X's Starlink, rather than military ones, such as US-326, but his warning echoed widely in security circles.It has developed laser cannons mounted on trucks or fixed at a base in the North Caucasus, which can destroy satellites' optical sensors, rendering them useless, though it is not known if the laser systems are up-and-running yet, Hendrickx, the Belgian expert, said.A cloud of the shrapnel prompted astronauts in the International Space Station, including Russian ones, to make evasive manoeuvres on 25 October when it passed by, Hendrickx noted, in a show of the enduring threat."