Russian Satellite Came Within Meters of a U.S. Commercial Radar Craft in Orbit

A Russian satellite known as Kosmos 2612 made a very close approach to a commercial American Earth-observing spacecraft, ICEYE-X36, between Oct. 15 and Oct. 19, according to Space.com. At one point the two craft may have been separated by only a few meters.

The encounter was flagged by satellite tracker Marco Langbroek and others, and he called it "a worrisome cat-and-mouse game." Space.com reported that the purpose of the maneuver is still unknown. It also noted that the approach appears to be over, at least for now.

How the encounter built up

• January 2020: Russia's Kosmos 2543 came within about 30 kilometers (19 miles) of USA 245, a classified U.S. spy satellite run by the National Reconnaissance Office, according to Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation.
• February 2022: Russia invaded Ukraine. Space.com says the war continues with ground troops, missiles and drone attacks.
• August 2022: Kosmos 2558 came within about 70 kilometers (43 miles) of another classified U.S. satellite, USA 326. Samson said Russia has approached that satellite repeatedly since.
• January (this year): ICEYE signed a contract with Ukraine's Ministry of Defence to keep supplying high-resolution radar imagery. The company said the imagery supports Ukrainian forces with timely awareness of the battlefield.
• April: Kosmos 2612 launched together with five other spacecraft.
• May: Four of those six craft, including Kosmos 2612, maneuvered into an orbit in the same plane as ICEYE-X36. Space.com notes such moves burn a lot of fuel and are not done lightly.
• Oct. 15 to Oct. 19: Kosmos 2612 rendezvoused with ICEYE-X36 in low Earth orbit.

Why this one stands out

Space.com says close inspections between satellites are not new. Russia, the United States and China have all moved spacecraft near other nations' hardware in recent years. Most of that has happened in geostationary orbit, far higher up, where spy, communications and weather satellites sit over a fixed spot on Earth.

Kosmos 2612 is working in low Earth orbit. As far as is known, neither China nor the United States has carried out an uncooperative rendezvous there. Russia has done so before, but only with classified government satellites and at much greater distances. ICEYE-X36 is a private craft.

ICEYE-X36 is one of about 80 ICEYE spacecraft in low Earth orbit that image the planet with synthetic aperture radar, which can see through clouds and works day and night. The Finland-based company operates some of them, and its U.S. subsidiary, ICEYE US, operates others, including X36. It is unclear whether X36 is dedicated to imaging Ukraine or Russia, Space.com says, but Russia appears to believe it is.

What Russia may have wanted

Samson stressed that the goal of the approach is not known. Space.com lists several possibilities: learning more about ICEYE satellites' capabilities, finding out what they are watching on the ground, or actively interfering with X36's sensors or its communications with the ground.

Samson herself leans toward a different explanation. She said she thinks Russia is frustrated after what she described as roughly six months of stalemate. In her view, the move is a show of military strength in an area where Ukraine cannot respond, because Ukraine is not Russia's peer in space even if it may match or beat Russia on drones.

Why it matters

The episode shows that commercial satellites, not just government ones, can become targets of attention in a conflict. Companies that sell imagery to a country at war may find their spacecraft shadowed by an adversary. Space.com adds that space is increasingly contested. The United States has long held an edge there, but Russia and China are challenging it.

Samson also pointed to how the news came out. The public learned of the encounter from private companies and civilians who study government tracking data, not from the U.S. Space Force. She called for more transparency from governments, noting that the existence of satellites cannot be kept secret because people can see them.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Space.com