Russian Satellite's Rare Approach to an Spacecraft Has Experts Questioning Whether it Was an Intimidation Tactic

Source: International Business Times

The spacecraft, Kosmos 2612, approached ICEYE-X36, part of a commercial radar-imaging constellation whose operator supplies intelligence services to Ukraine. Getty Images A Russian satellite maneuvered to within roughly 500 meters of a commercial Earth-observation spacecraft over the weekend, according to space-tracking company LeoLabs, an encounter that may represent an unprecedented unapproved rendezvous between two active satellites in low Earth orbit. The spacecraft, Kosmos 2612, also known as Cosmos 2612, approached ICEYE-X36, part of a commercial radar-imaging constellation whose operator supplies intelligence services to Ukraine.