This evening, Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing that the United States will no longer conduct anti-satellite, or ASAT, missile tests \u2014 the practice of using ground-based missiles to destroy satellites in orbit around Earth. Harris is challenging other countries to make the same commitment and establish this policy as a new \u201cnorm of responsible behavior in space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris will speak more extensively on the new commitment during a speech at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California this evening. Harris currently serves as the chair of the White House\u2019s National Space Council, an executive advisory group that helps to set the nation\u2019s space agenda.<\/p>\n