Russian satellite makes possibly unprecedented approach to another spacecraft without permission

A rare move by a Russian-made satellite may have brought it within less than a mile of a commercial Earth-observation satellite that may be used to provide national security services to countries such as Ukraine.

It’s not clear what, exactly, the Russian satellite, called Kosmos 2612 or Cosmos 2612, intended to accomplish with its close approach. But the behavior was consistent with rendezvous and proximity operations, or maneuvers carried out in orbit that are designed to bring two spacecraft together, said orbital monitoring services company LeoLabs, which tracks space junk and activity in Earth orbit, in a statement.

“While the intent remains uncertain, the behavior warrants continued monitoring,” LeoLabs added in the statement.

While rendezvousing or docking two vehicles together happens all the time in space — Kosmos 2612’s actions could mark the first time that one spacecraft approached another without permission, noted Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and space analyst, in a post on social media.

The observation satellite, called Iceye-X36, is operated by Iceye, a multinational company with offices in the United States, Finland and several other countries across Europe and Asia.

The company said in a statement Monday, “We are aware of the situation and tracking it closely. Our constellation architecture is designed for continuity and resilience.” A spokesperson declined to comment further.

Iceye-X36 uses synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, technology, which “enables high resolution imagery to be created night or day, regardless of weather conditions,” according to NASA .

Iceye’s satellite constellation has been used to support “the Ukrainian Armed Forces with persistent situational awareness on tactical timelines,” according to a January news release that detailed an expanded agreement between the company and Ukraine. It was not immediately clear whether ICEYE-X36, specifically, was used to support Ukrainian military operations. Iceye declined to comment.

Signs that Russian military spacecraft may have been seeking to close in on Iceye-operated satellites have emerged since May, when four Russian-controlled satellites adjusted their orbits to align with Iceye-X36, according to a June report from The Royal United Services Institute , or RUSI, a UK-based defense and security research organization.

Then, on October 15, the Kosmos 2612 satellite made a swift approach to Iceye-X36, closing its distance from 350 kilometers (217 miles) to less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) by early morning on October 16, according to LeoLabs.

Kosmos 2612 then appeared to hold its distance, “making small adjustments” to “maintain a close relative position” throughout the weekend, LeoLabs said Monday.

“Analysis indicates that it approached to within roughly 500 meters during part of the event — however, it’s important to note that exact separation estimates carry uncertainty because of the repeated maneuvers and challenging tracking geometry,” LeoLabs said.

CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defence and Aerospace Forces and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, for comment.

By Monday, the Kosmos 2612 satellite had begun to move away from Iceye-X36, LeoLabs said. The maneuvers that the Russian vehicle demonstrated could have been used to “inspect, characterize, shadow, or potentially interfere with another spacecraft,” according to the company.

“While this event, and the capabilities demonstrated, do not establish hostile intent,” LeoLabs said, “It does, however, demonstrate capabilities that could support intelligence collection, on-orbit inspection, coercive signaling, interference, or preparation for future counterspace operations.”

RUSI’s report also detailed several potential objectives that Russia may have by making a close approach with one of Iceye’s satellites. The maneuver could be an intimidation tactic or an attempt to interfere with Iceye’s operations through “jamming,” an interference technique that uses radio noise to prevent satellites from communicating.

“The range of options for the protection of the ICEYE satellite are currently limited,” the RUSI report states, “and the defence and protection of satellites presents a famous dilemma.”

一颗俄罗斯制造的卫星的罕见举动，使其距离一颗可能用于向乌克兰等国提供国家安全服务的商业地球观测卫星不到一英里。

目前尚不清楚这颗名为“宇宙2612”（Kosmos 2612）的俄罗斯卫星近距离接近地球的真正目的是什么。但轨道监测服务公司LeoLabs在一份声明中表示，这种行为符合交会和近距离操作的特征，即在轨道上进行的旨在使两颗航天器靠近的机动操作。LeoLabs是一家追踪太空垃圾和地球轨道活动的轨道监测服务公司。

LeoLabs在声明中补充道：“虽然其意图尚不明确，但这种行为值得持续关注。”

太空中的交会或对接是常有的事，但宇宙2612的举动可能是历史上第一次有航天器未经许可就接近另一艘航天器，天体物理学家兼太空分析师乔纳森·麦克道尔在社交媒体上发帖指出。

这颗名为 Iceye-X36 的观测卫星由 Iceye 公司运营，该公司是一家跨国公司，在美国、芬兰以及欧洲和亚洲的多个国家设有办事处。

该公司周一在一份声明中表示：“我们已了解情况并正在密切关注。我们的星座架构旨在确保服务的连续性和弹性。”一位发言人拒绝进一步置评。

据美国宇航局称，Iceye-X36 使用合成孔径雷达 (SAR) 技术，“无论天气条件如何，都能在白天或晚上生成高分辨率图像”。

根据Iceye公司1月份发布的新闻稿，该公司的卫星星座已被用于“为乌克兰武装部队提供持续的、战术层面的态势感知”，该新闻稿详细介绍了该公司与乌克兰之间一项扩展协议。目前尚不清楚ICEYE-X36卫星是否具体用于支持乌克兰的军事行动。Iceye公司拒绝置评。

据英国皇家联合军种研究所（RUSI，一家总部位于英国的国防和安全研究机构）6 月份的一份报告显示，自 5 月份以来，有迹象表明俄罗斯军用航天器可能一直在试图接近 Iceye 运营的卫星。当时，四颗俄罗斯控制的卫星调整了轨道，以与 Iceye-X36 对齐。

据 LeoLabs 称，10 月 15 日，Kosmos 2612 卫星迅速接近 Iceye-X36，到 10 月 16 日清晨，卫星与 Iceye-X36 的距离从 350 公里（217 英里）缩短到不到 5 公里（3 英里）。

据 LeoLabs 周一表示，Kosmos 2612 随后似乎保持了与地球的距离，并在整个周末“进行了微调”，以“保持紧密的相对位置”。

LeoLabs表示：“分析表明，在事件的某个阶段，它与目标之间的距离接近到大约500米以内——但是，需要注意的是，由于反复的机动和具有挑战性的跟踪几何形状，确切的分离估计存在不确定性。”

CNN已联系俄罗斯国防部和空天军部以及俄罗斯航天局（Roscosmos）征求意见。

据LeoLabs公司称，截至周一，Kosmos 2612卫星已开始远离Iceye-X36卫星。该公司表示，俄罗斯航天器展示的这些机动动作可能用于“检查、识别、跟踪或潜在干扰其他航天器”。

LeoLabs表示：“虽然此次事件以及所展示的能力并未表明存在敌对意图，但它确实展示了可以支持情报收集、在轨检查、强制信号、干扰或为未来反太空行动做准备的能力。”

皇家联合军种研究所（RUSI）的报告还详细列举了俄罗斯接近Iceye卫星可能存在的几个潜在目的。此举可能是一种恐吓策略，也可能是试图通过“干扰”——一种利用无线电噪声阻止卫星通信的干扰技术——来干扰Iceye的运行。

RUSI 的报告指出：“目前保护 ICEYE 卫星的选择范围有限，而卫星的防御和保护是一个众所周知的难题。”