Cat and mouse game: Russian satellite appear to chase US military satellite in space

A mysterious Russian satellite and a classified US military satellite appear to be chasing each other in space. The Russian spacecraft, Kosmos-2558, was launched in August 2022 into the same orbital plane as the US satellite, USA-326, and has ever since passed near the American spacecraft, reported Business Insider.

Due to Kosmos-2558’s behaviour and the lack of a formal explanation from Russia, space experts believe the probe is stalking USA-326. This is the third satellite launched by Russia that looks to be an “inspector”, a spacecraft which can acquire detailed information about another satellite.

Media reports suggest that if the Kosmos-2558 is the ‘inspector’ it appears to be, created especially to stalk and maybe collect data on USA-326, it’s likely obtaining an even better imagery.

For decades, spacecrafts have spied on one another. The trick is to simply launch your satellite into a higher orbit than the satellites you want to observe.

However, Russia appears to be experimenting with a new means of stalking specific targets, for reasons unknown, according to Business Insider.

Gen James H Dickinson, commander of US Space Command, told NBC News after Russia launched Kosmos-2558, “That’s really irresponsible behavior. We see that it’s in a similar orbit to one of our high-value assets for the US government.”

Dickinson also said that the US would continue to track the Russian spacecraft.

The Americans have stated that the USA-326 is meant to support “overhead reconnaissance”, which is a spy satellite program for gathering intelligence by observing Earth.

Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist, told the Business Insider that the Kosmos-2558 made four close passes at USA-326 in March. It passed within about 50 kms of USA-326. The distance wasn’t that close enough to risk a collision, but it can get detailed imagery.

It’s not the first time that such an incident has happened. According to Anatoly Zak, a writer who monitors Russia’s space programme, another Kosmos satellite showed “stalking” behaviour after its launch in 2014. However, it was stalking its own rocket stage, not an adversary spacecraft.

Then, in 2020, a US Space Force general stated that two unidentified Russian satellites were following a US espionage satellite.

According to hobby satellite tracker Nico Janssen, in the latest development of this chase, the US satellite shifted to a higher orbit, ascending farther away just before Kosmos-2558 was slated to pass close by again on 7 April, reported Business Insider.

Janssen believes the US spacecraft was simply executing a routine boost to compensate for the altitude it lost recently due to solar activity. Charged particles have been ejected from the sun, causing satellites to fall into lower orbits.

With inputs from agencies

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