According to Gillinger, the distances between the four Russian satellites and ICEYE-X36 now range from about 500 meters (1,640 feet) to 22 kilometers (13.7 miles). All this takes place in a polar orbit at an altitude of about 340 miles (547 kilometers).
Gillinger wrote in his newsletter that Russian satellite operators are now able to shut down the ICEYE satellite by making “small adjustments” to “satellite eccentricity and average altitudes.” A fifth satellite from the same Russian launch last month is now performing similar maneuvers to approach ICEYE-X36.
Co-planar or cosplay?
We know very little about what these particular Space satellites can do. Perhaps, as one retired U.S. military space official recently told Ars, it’s another example of Russia’s boring saber rattling. Russian military officials seem to enjoy scrutinizing US and allied forces, often flying strategic bombers near US and European airspace.
This same behavior is now spreading into space, with Russia sending several military spacecraft into space, shadowing the US government’s most sophisticated spy satellites in low-Earth orbit a few hundred miles above the planet. US officials believe at least some of these Russian satellites are part of the anti-satellite weapons program.
Recently, a A mysterious Russian military satellite has arrived in geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles above the equator. Anecdotal evidence suggests it may also be part of Russia’s anti-satellite system. The US Space Force sent one of its surveillance satellites into geosynchronous orbit to take a closer look.
Radar image of a bridge in Crimea taken by the ICEYE satellite.
Credit: ICEYE
Radar image of a bridge in Crimea taken by the ICEYE satellite.
Credit: ICEYE
Targeting a single spacecraft like ICEYE-X36 in a constellation of similar imaging satellites would do little to prevent Ukraine or other Western countries from accessing radar surveillance images. ICEYE itself operates dozens more radar imaging satellites. Unlike optical spy satellites, radars provide images day and night regardless of cloud cover.
