Did Russia just test a weapon in space?

In 2008, for example, the U.S. Navy tweaked the code on one of its ship-based SM-3 missile-interceptors and successfully targeted an old U.S. satellite in low orbit.

The nature of the Russian test underscores the likelihood that the rocket in question is a satellite-killer. The rocket reportedly blasted off from a base in central Russia and arced into low orbit. There was no debris, according to CNN—meaning the missile likely targeted a point in space instead of aiming for, say, a decommissioned Russian satellite.

But the fact that the rocket targeted fixed coordinates in space indicates that it’s meant for destroying spacecraft. “Shooting at a point in space is useless from a missile-defense point of view,” Lewis explained.

That’s because incoming ballistic missiles move quickly. A missile-interceptor must be able to maneuver rapidly to match the target’s constantly-changing position. A satellite, by contrast, moves comparatively slowly and predictably. “You don’t know where a missile is going to be,” Lewis said, “but you do know where a satellite is going to be.”