Russian satellite Kosmos 2612 manoeuvres in 'extreme proximity' to ICEYE-X36

Russian military satellite Kosmos 2612 has manoeuvred in "extreme proximity" to ICEYE-X36, a US-operated commercial imaging satellite, according to orbital intelligence company LeoLabs. LeoLabs said Kosmos 2612 closed from hundreds of kilometres away, manoeuvred around the ICEYE satellite, stayed nearby for an extended period and then began moving away.

LeoLabs said Kosmos 2612 began rapidly moving toward ICEYE-X36, then held station 2 to 3 kilometres away before shifting positions ahead of and behind it. The two satellites came within 500 metres (1,640 feet) of each other, and "likely quite a bit closer than that," said Adam Marsh, LeoLabs' vice president of technical solutions.

US military officials and independent analysts have tracked Kosmos 2612 since its April launch on a Soyuz rocket from northern Russia. Within weeks, it was apparent that at least four of the six satellites from that launch were following ICEYE-X36 after adjusting their orbits to line up with it.

LeoLabs said the sequence was "not a routine conjunction or 'fly by.'" It listed a controlled approach, changes in relative position, close-proximity loitering, additional small manoeuvres and a controlled departure, consistent with sophisticated rendezvous and proximity operations.

Sourcearstechnica.com