A secretive Russian satellite in space that US officials believe is connected to a nuclear anti-satellite weapon program has appeared to be spinning uncontrollably, suggesting it might no longer be functioning, in what could be a setback for Moscow’s space weapon efforts, according to US analysts.
The Cosmos 2553 satellite, launched by Russia weeks before invading Ukraine in 2022, has had various bouts of what appears to be errant spinning over the past year, according to Doppler radar data from space-tracking firm LeoLabs and optical data from Slingshot Aerospace.
Believed to be a radar satellite for Russian intelligence, as well as a radiation testing platform, the satellite last year became the center of US allegations that Russia for years has been developing a nuclear weapon capable of destroying entire satellite networks, such as SpaceX’s vast Starlink internet system that Ukrainian troops have been using.
Photo: REUTERS
US officials assess Cosmos 2553’s purpose is to aid Russia’s development of a nuclear anti-satellite weapon. Russia has denied it is developing such a weapon and says Cosmos 2553 is for research purposes.
Russia has for decades been locked in a security race in space with the US that, in recent years, has intensified and seeped into public view as Earth’s orbit becomes a hotspot for private sector competition and military technologies aiding ground forces.
The satellite has been in a relatively isolated orbit some 2,000km above Earth, parked in a hotspot of cosmic radiation that communications or Earth-observing satellites typically avoid.
LeoLabs in November last year detected what appeared to be errant movements with the satellite using Doppler radar measurements from its global network of ground stations. The company in December upgraded its assessment to “high confidence” that it was tumbling based on additional radar data and imagery of the satellite taken by another space company, LeoLabs senior technical fellow Darren McKnight said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense did not return a request for comment.
“This observation strongly suggests the satellite is no longer operational,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said of LeoLabs’ analysis in its annual Space Threat Assessment published on Friday.
US Space Command, which tracks objects in space and has condemned Russian military satellites, said it was aware of a change in Cosmos 2553’s altitude, but declined to provide further assessment on its current state.
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