Then everybody will do it secretly. It's only a travesty when someone starts it; other people have the right to respond to parity with their own.

There's no way to secretly test these weapons.

To be clear, I'm not objecting to the weapons existence. I'm objecting to the tests, which are potentially worse than above-ground nuclear testing. The kessler syndrome, if realized, would permanently destroy our ability to deploy, access, and use space resources.

It 300km in low earth orbit. Press briefing said that the debris will re-enter the atmosphere within a week.

How many tests did US conduct since 1950s?

Anti-satellite weapon tests? Only twice. Once in 1985, which was internationally condemned and widely considered a mistake, and once operationally in 2008 to destroy a failed satellite about to re-enter with a full tank of toxic fuel (the debris from this immediately entered the atmosphere).

Wait... what?

So the first, the US, was a travesty, but everyone else is legitimate self-defense?