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A shoebox-sized satellite could expose hidden nuclear weapons in space

Neutrons streaming from a bomb could reveal its presence from 4 kilometers away

An illustration showing a cluster of satellites orbiting above Earth.

Thousands of satellites in orbit (some illustrated) could be destroyed by a nuclear weapon detonated in space. A new paper reports a method of detecting nuclear weapons in space.

Yuichiro Chino/Moment/Getty Images

By Emily Conover

Space is supposed to be free of nuclear weapons, but there’s no way to check. A newly proposed technique could search for illicit nuclear weapons in orbit.