Russian satellite makes close pass of ICEYE radar satellite

A Russian military satellite has spent the past three weeks working its way onto the orbit of a Western radar-imaging satellite, and the two appear to have passed very close to each other early on Sunday, October 18. Independent trackers say it may be the first time one active satellite has rendezvoused with another in low Earth orbit without the owner's consent.

What happened

The chaser is Kosmos 2612 (also written Cosmos 2612), one of six military satellites Russia launched from Plesetsk on April 16, 2026. Moscow has not said what it does. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell describes it as an inspector satellite.

The target is ICEYE-X36, a roughly 90 kg synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite launched in March 2024. It was built by Finland's ICEYE, is registered in the US and is tied to ICEYE US. Radar satellites like this can image the ground at night and through cloud, which makes them useful for watching military activity.

Dutch analyst Marco Langbroek wrote on his SatTrackCam Leiden blog that he was sceptical at first. He changed his mind after Kosmos 2612 made burns on September 30, October 12, 15 and 16. In his view these were "clearly designed" to match ICEYE-X36's altitude, eccentricity and orbital period. Space-tracking company LeoLabs told Axios on Friday that the movement "appears to be a deliberate approach". By that afternoon the gap was about 5 km.

According to Langbroek's update on Sunday afternoon, the closest approach probably came at about 01:35 UTC on October 18. It may have been within a few hundred metres, "or possibly (much) closer". Kosmos 2612 seems to have made a small manoeuvre around then. He saw no sign that ICEYE-X36's orbit was disturbed. Whether the satellite still works, "only the users can tell us."

Why it matters

ICEYE has supplied radar data to Ukraine since 2022, through a deal funded by the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation. There is no public confirmation that ICEYE-X36 itself is used by Kyiv, and ICEYE declined to comment to Axios. The Pentagon also declined to comment. McDowell wrote on X that this is, to his knowledge, "the first LEO rendezvous of two active satellites where the owner of one of the sats did not give approval." He added that he doesn't think it quite violates the Outer Space Treaty.

That treaty only asks countries to show "due regard" for others' activities. No rule sets a minimum distance between satellites. Russia has shadowed US spacecraft before: The Hindu recalls Kosmos 2542 approaching the US reconnaissance satellite USA 245 in 2020, and Kosmos 2543 releasing a fast-moving object that same year. Possible motives range from a show of capability to jamming. A physical attack, or an accidental collision, would create debris, the problem the UK is trying to tackle with its space-junk clean-up mission.

Public orbital data are only accurate to about a kilometre, so all distances here are estimates. We'll update this story if ICEYE, Russia or US officials comment. Want to try spotting satellites yourself? See our beginner telescope guide.