GoKawiilNEWS AND VIEWS
08 July 2026 Nuclear weapons lurking in space could be tracked down by satellites A nuclear weapon orbiting Earth would emit neutrons through its interactions with the planet’s space radiation environment, and these could be detected by satellites. By Angela Di Fulvio 0 Angela Di Fulvio Angela Di Fulvio is in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering at the Grainger College of Engineering and the Program in Arms Control and Domestic and International Security, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana 61801, Illinois, USA. View author publications PubMed Google Scholar
The Outer Space Treaty (OST), currently ratified by 118 countries, including Russia and the United States, prohibits weapons of mass destruction in orbit1. But the power of such a treaty to deter space-based nuclear detonations, which could sabotage key satellite-reliant infrastructure, is limited if compliance with the treaty cannot be credibly verified. Now, writing in Nature, Danagoulian2 reports a modelling study showing that satellites carrying nuclear weapons emit a tell-tale neutron signal caused by interactions with high-energy protons trapped in Earth’s magnetic field. The author finds that this signal could be detected by nearby ‘inspector’ satellites.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01944-4
References Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Status of International Agreements Relating to Activities in Outer Space A/AC.105/C.2/2026/CRP.9/Rev.1 (UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, 2026). Danagoulian, A. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10783-2 (2026). Snyder, D., Putney, A., Leidy, E. N., Hartnett, G. S. & Bonom, J. The Effects of High-Altitude Nuclear Explosions on Non-Military Satellites (RAND, 2025). Steinberger, W. M. et al. Sci. Rep. 10, 1855 (2020). Download references
Competing Interests The author declares no competing interests.
Related Articles
Subjects