Russia Deploys Strange Satellite To Stalk US Military Satellites Allegedly

An unusual Russian satellite that is alleged to be designed to stalk American military satellites in orbit has just been deployed, according to a report by The Drive.

Russian satellite 14F150 Nivelir was launched into orbit as part of the Kosmos-2558 mission, and given its present orbit, it may soon be near what is thought to be the spy satellite USA-326.

"Very Clear Indication"

Following the launch, unverified claims about the asset's intended use as an "inspector" satellite to discreetly spy on adjacent spacecraft have started to spread online.

Marco Langbroek, an astrodynamics professor at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, who tracked the two satellites' orbital planes, said that the Russian satellite was launched at a moment when the American satellite was passing above the Russian spaceport of Plesetsk.

In his interview with Gizmodo, he stated that the two orbits appear to be fairly close, with the major variation "being a relatively small difference of a few tens of kilometers in orbital altitude.

He claimed that this was a "very clear indication."

He also noted that the Russian satellite is traveling in a 97.25-degree inclined orbit, whereas the American satellite is traveling in a 97.4-degree inclined Sun-synchronous orbit.

In the coming days, the Russian satellite may also modify its orbit in order to approach the American satellite even more closely, Langbroek added.

He also claimed that this kind of Russian satellite has previously been deployed to monitor satellites in orbit.

Sensor System

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, also said that the satellite likely features a sensor system designed to view other spacecraft rather than the typical observing satellite designed to take photographs of the ground.

The purpose of USA-326 may help to explain why Russia might wish to deploy Kosmos-2558 to spy on it, as per The Drive.

In February of this year, USA-326-a classified national security operation run by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in collaboration with SpaceX-was launched by the latter's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This mission was known as NROL-87.

According to a statement made by the NRO in a press release issued after the initial launch, NROL-87 was created, constructed, and is currently being operated by the NRO to support its "overhead reconnaissance mission," which is primarily focused on preserving national security.

Interesting Engineering said that in the past, space stalking has occasionally involved the United States as both the perpetrator and the victim. A second Russian satellite, Kosmos 2542, was pursuing USA 245, an electro-optical espionage satellite in low Earth orbit, in 2020.

Langbroek will monitor the two satellites' orbits over the coming days to see whether they approach Earth close.

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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla