Pentagon official warns Russian space nuke could be devastating - as China beats NASA in launching first mission to dark side of moon

A Pentagon official warned lawmakers that Russia's development of a nuclear space satellite could knock out all other global satellites for up to a year.

Satellites aren't built to withstand the radiation from a nuclear explosion and some could be destroyed by the blast and have 'devastating' consequences for the US and other countries' capabilities in space.

This marks the first time the Biden administration has openly discussed the 'indiscriminate weapon' at an open Congressional hearing, after a bombshell revelation by lawmakers in February.

Meanwhile, China has launched the first mission to collect samples from the dark side of the moon, even as the US government has warned that China could claim ownership of the moon if it reached the lunar surface first.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) has denied claims that reports that the country is building a nuclear anti-satellite that could destroy all other satellites in space for up to a year.

Russia already has several space-based military assets. These include co-orbital anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, direct-ascent ASAT missiles, and Starlink communication satellites it is contracting for its war on Ukraine

'The concept that we are concerned about is Russia developing and — if we are unable to convince them otherwise — to ultimately fly a nuclear weapon in space which will be an indiscriminate weapon,' John Plumb, the assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said at a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.

He added that the weapon wouldn't distinguish between civilian, commercial or military satellites which provide cell phone reception, internet access and data about foreign threats.

SpaceX's Starlink has 5,400 satellites in orbit that have been vital to Ukraine remaining online and having communication capabilities during the ongoing Russian invasion.

In February, lawmakers first warned that Russia was developing a nuclear anti-satellite, also called a nuclear EMP, that posed a 'serious national security threat' to the US.

 'Our general knowledge of Russian pursuit of this kind of capability goes back many, many months, if not a few years,' National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN at the time. 

'But only in recent weeks now has the intelligence community been able to assess with a higher sense of confidence exactly how Russia continues to pursue it.'

The weapon has not yet been placed in space and Plumb said there isn't an 'imminent' threat to public safety, and the anti-satellite wouldn't be able to attack humans or cause physical destruction on Earth. 

However, if the nuclear EMP is deployed, it 'could pose a threat to all satellites operated by countries and companies around the globe, as well as to the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services we all depend upon,' Plumb said.

Shortly after lawmakers said Russia was building the anti-satellite nuclear weapon, Russian President Vladimir Putin vehemently denied the reports during a meeting with his defense minister in Moscow and claimed he was against deploying nuclear weapons in space.

China launched its Chang'e 6 rocket on Friday (pictured) that will travel to the dark side of the moon to collect rock samples from the lunar surface

Concerns over Russia's potential impact on space satellites come as China launched the Chang E' 6 mission to the dark side of the moon on Friday, making it the first country to deploy a mission to the region.

READ MORE: Republicans question if the US has the capability to respond to Russia attacking its satellites 

Russia blew up one of its own satellites in 2021 using a missile. Cosmos 1408, a defunct spy satellite launched in 1982, was the destroyed target, which resulted in a field of 1,500 pieces of debris endangering the crew of the ISS 

Last month, NASA warned that China could be using its civilian space program as a cover for military operations and their plans to create a landing base on the lunar surface could pose a threat to national security.

He noted that much of his concern stems from the Chinese space programs' close-knit ties to the People's Liberation Army - a military branch of the Communist Party.

'My concern would be if China got there first and suddenly said: 'Okay, this is our territory, you stay out,''' Nelson said.

He said his concern stems from the Chinese space programs' close-knit ties to the People's Liberation Army - a military branch of the Communist Party.

'My concern would be if China got there first and suddenly said: 'Okay, this is our territory, you stay out,''' Nelson said.

He argued that if anyone doubts his warning, they should look at Beijing's claims that it owns the majority of territory in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea which China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines jointly own. 

'China has made extraordinary strides, especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive,' Nelson said at the hearing.

'We believe that a lot of their, so-called civilian space programs is a military program,' he continued. 'And I think, in effect, we are in a race.'