US spy satellite being stalked by TWO Russian spacecraft is ‘unusual and disturbing’, Space Force chief warns
TWO mysterious Russian spacecraft are quietly tailing a US spy satellite hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface and US officials are concerned.
The close stalking of satellite USA 245 – which snaps intelligence photos of Earth for the Pentagon – began last month when it was initially thought to be just one Russian craft doing the stalking.
US military analysts first noticed Russia had launched a mystery craft back in November.
They think the second smaller satellite was somehow "birthed" from the first one like a Russian doll.
General John Raymond, the Space Force chief of space operations, told : "This is unusual and disturbing behaviour and has the potential to create a dangerous situation in space.
"The United States finds these recent activities to be concerning and do not reflect the behaviour of a responsible spacefaring nation."
This is the first time the US military has publicly identified a direct threat to American satellites from a different country, according to TIME.
It thinks that the spacecraft identified as Cosmos 2542 and Cosmos 2543 were manoeuvred into the orbit of the US satellite for tracking purposes.
Cosmos 2542 is a "space apparatus inspector", meaning it's designed to examine other satellites in orbit using powerful cameras and sensors.
Some experts have claimed the probe is used to spy on enemy satellites.
The spacecraft may even even be armed with lasers or signal jammers that can be used to attack other spacecraft at close range.
The Cosmos 2542 probe was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome - some 600 miles north of Moscow - in November, 2019.
At the time, the Kremlin said it was only used to check up on other Russian satellites.
"The spacecraft, created on the basis of a unified multifunctional space platform, is launched into the target orbit from which the state of domestic satellites can be monitored," according to a from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
"The optical equipment of the spacecraft also allows you to take pictures of the Earth's surface."
It moved extremely close to USA 245 – part of America's £3billion KH-11 photo reconnaissance project – on January 21, according to Michael Thompson, a graduate student studying satellites and astrodynamics.
"But instead of then drifting away as usual, Cosmos 2542 performed a series of maneuvers on the 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd to match the period of USA 245," Thompson wrote in a Twitter Thread.
That means instead of passing USA 245 every two weeks, the Russian probe is right behind its American counterpart.
"Cosmos 2542 is loitering around USA 245 in consistent view," Thomspon tweeted.
"As I'm typing this, that offset distance shifts between 150 and 300 kilometers [93.2 and 186.4 miles] depending on the location in the orbit."
At such a close range, Cosmos 2542 has the opportunity to take photos of USA 245.
"The relative orbit is actually pretty cleverly designed," Thompson wrote.
"Cosmos 2542 can observe one side of the KH-11 when both satellites first come into sunlight, and by the time they enter eclipse, it has migrated to the other side.
"This is all circumstantial evidence, but there are a hell of a lot of circumstances that make it look like a known Russian inspection satellite is currently inspecting a known US spy satellite.
"Cosmos 2542 made another maneuver on January 31st and is now drifting back towards USA 245. Closest approach is currently set for February 7-10," he added.
Terrifying space weapons of the future
Here are three of the scariest...
Rods from God
- A strange but utterly terrifying weapon has been dubbed "rods from the God" and is based on the concept of creating man-made meteorites that can be guided towards the enemy.
- Instead of using rocks rods the size of telephone poles are deployed.
- These would be made out of tungsten — a rare metal that can stand the intense heat generated by entering Earth's atmosphere.
- One satellite fires the rods towards the Earth's atmosphere while the other steers them to a target on the ground.
- Reaching speeds of 7000mph they hit the ground with the force of a small nuclear weapon — but crucially creating no radiation fall out.
- As bizarre as it sounds, a US Congressional report recently revealed the military has been pushing ahead with the kinetic space weapons.
Molten metal cannons
- This intriguing idea is being developed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
- It is called the Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition or MAHEM.
- This game changing rail-gun can fire a jet of molten metal, hurled through space at several hundred miles per second by the most powerful electromagnets ever built.
- The molten metal can then morph into an aerodynamic slug during flight and pierce through another spacecraft or satellite and a munition explodes inside.
Space force ships
- Already the United States is powering head with its spacecraft, although China is busy developing one of their own.
- The top secret American XS-1 under development by DARPA.
- It can travel ten times the speed of sound and launch missiles.
- Meanwhile an unmanned craft is currently being developed in the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Centre in Mianyang, Sichuan province, which is also known as Base 29.
TOP STORIES IN SCIENCE
In other space news, Nasa last week unveiled the space pods where the first tourists aboard the International Space Station will stay.
This Nasa graphic reveals what Earth would look like with no oceans.
And, a nearby star we’ve watched for 180 years is mysteriously dimming – leaving scientists baffled.
What do you think the satellites are up to? Let us know in the comments...
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]