Russian military satellite makes ‘close approach’ to U.S. radar satellite in orbit — SkimNews
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- Cosmos-2612, a Russian military satellite, changed its orbit repeatedly to approach ICEYE-X36, a commercial radar-imaging satellite registered in the U.S. whose operator currently supplies radar data to Ukraine.
- The two satellites are operating roughly 550 km above Earth and were estimated to be only 1-2 km apart as of late October 17.
- TU Delft astronomer and lecturer Marco Langbroek projected late on October 17 that the pair would come within metres of each other if their existing trajectories continued.
- No attack or hostile action had been established as of 10 am IST on October 18.
Why it matters: ICEYE-X36's operator currently supplies radar data to Ukraine, so Cosmos-2612's repeated orbital maneuvers toward it directly connect the orbital confrontation to Kyiv's battlefield awareness chain. At 1-2 km apart and closing toward metres-level proximity per Langbroek's estimate, the incident tests whether commercial satellites providing wartime intelligence can be safely operated near hostile military ones.
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