Russia Activates 'Killer Satellite'? Approaches U.S. Radar Satellite Within Hundreds of Meters

A Russian satellite has been spotted making a threatening approach toward a U.S. commercial radar satellite, the New York Times (NYT) reported on October 20 (local time).

According to the NYT, Russia's Cosmos 2612 satellite carried out multiple close-approach maneuvers targeting the ICEYE-X36 radar satellite starting from September 30, and reportedly came within hundreds of meters over the past week.

ICEYE, the Finnish satellite company that manufactured the ICEYE-X36, operates a subsidiary in the United States, and the satellite in question is registered as a U.S. satellite.

ICEYE has been providing satellite imagery and intelligence to the Ukrainian military authorities, who have been at war with Russia since 2022.

While it remains unconfirmed whether the ICEYE-X36 is among the satellites providing intelligence to the Ukrainian military, observers speculate that Russia may have approached it to gather related intelligence or potentially destroy the satellite.

Based on data from various satellite tracking websites, the NYT reported that images captured the previous day show the two satellites have once again widened their distance to hundreds of kilometers or more without a collision.

The exact purpose of the approach by the Russian satellite Cosmos 2612 has not been confirmed.

However, the possibility has also been raised that the satellite may have been carrying weapons.

Clayton Swope, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington D.C.-based think tank, analyzed that Cosmos 2612 may have already achieved purposes such as reconnaissance, or that it may have approached with the intent to attack or destroy before canceling the operation.

Some interpretations also suggest it is difficult to view as unrelated the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of sanctions against Russia on October 16 and the subsequent withdrawal of Cosmos 2612.

Experts have expressed concern that while Russia, the U.S., and China have previously conducted mutual close-approach maneuvers targeting military satellites multiple times, this incident confirms that commercial satellites can also become targets.

Space observation experts predict that the Russian satellite could approach the ICEYE-X36 again at any time.

Previously, Russia launched six satellites simultaneously in April, including Cosmos 2612.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.