Russian satellite may have rehearsed an attack on ICEYE satellite — The Japan Times
Russia’s military satellite Cosmos 2612, belonging to the aggressor state, dangerously approached the commercial X36 satellite of Finland’s ICEYE company in low Earth orbit in mid-October. According to a military space specialist, the approach may have been a rehearsal for an attack, The Japan Times reports.
Dangerous approach
US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas DiNanno wrote on social media platform X after the incident that Cosmos 2612 had deliberately carried out dangerous maneuvers near the commercial satellite. According to him, such behavior is consistent with operations involving orbital weapons.
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Three space specialists described the incident as one of the closest known approaches by a Russian military spacecraft to a commercial satellite in low Earth orbit.
ICEYE satellite
X36 belongs to Finland’s ICEYE and provides radar imagery to Western governments and militaries, including Ukraine. Two Russian spacecraft associated with Cosmos 2612 are currently moving toward another Western satellite.
