Get best of the week

Space Spy Racing

A curious story is being played out now in near-Earth orbit: the Russian inspector satellite is approaching the American spy satellite, he is trying to impede rapprochement with his maneuvers, and amateur astronomers observe what is happening and tell us.


View of the Hubble telescope from the shuttle. The structurally close USA 245 with Cosmos-2542 may look something like this. NASA Photos

This story began when the Soyuz-2.1v launch vehicle launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on November 25, 2019. Already on the 26th, the Ministry of Defense announced that a satellite inspector was launched into orbit. These devices are designed to approach other space objects, usually for reconnaissance purposes (more details can be found here ). In the past, different things happened - satellites approached their own booster blocks or launched inspectors from their motherboards (for example, in 2017, Cosmos-2521 and Cosmos-2523 were separated from Cosmos-2519 ).

At first it might seem that everything is going on as before - on December 6, it separated from Cosmos-2542the device, which, presumably, will receive the number “-2543”. But it was not there. Amateur astronomer Nico Janssen noticed that the orbital plane on which Cosmos-2542 was launched was less than a degree different from the orbit of the US intelligence satellite USA 245 (aka NROL-65, recognized by amateur astronomers as optical reconnaissance satellite KH-11).

A little bit about our heroes


USA-245, presumably the sixteenth satellite of the KH-11 series, possibly related to the fourth version of the series. It was launched in 2013, and already after three turns amateur astronomers found it and suggested its type in terms of orbit parameters. The device was brought into a close orbital plane with the same type USA-186, launched in 2005, most likely to replace it.


The location of the KH-11 satellites in orbits for September 2013 according to the calculations of Marco Langbroek

KH-11 is the first series of American optical reconnaissance satellites capable of capturing the Earth’s surface on a digital camera and transmitting data in almost real time (the previous model, like the devices before it, was shot on tape and sent to the ground in special cassettes). The first KH-11 went into orbit in 1976 and, in modernized versions, is still launched. In appearance, the devices are similar to the Hubble telescope. The latest versions from a low orbit, presumably, can provide a resolution of up to 10 centimeters per pixel.


USA-129 satellite photographed from Earth by amateur astronomer Ralph Vanderberg

The KH-11 satellites are known for regularly performing small maneuvers, possibly compensating for the deceleration on the remnants of the atmosphere, noticeable in low orbits, or selecting orbital parameters for the observation of specific targets. When winter falls in the northern hemisphere, their orbit is in the shadow for observers. The “watch” for tracking satellites is taken over by enthusiasts in the southern hemisphere, in 2013 it was only one person. Therefore, in the spring you often have to look for a satellite that has changed its orbit during this time. Exciting searches can take several days.

But less is known about Cosmos-2542. Designations 14F150 “Voltage” and project 14K167 “Level”, attributed to him, ratherrelate to geodetic satellites that make up high-precision maps of the shape and gravitational field of the Earth, which can then be used in guidance systems of military missiles. In the journal Vestnik NPO im. Lavochkina No. 4 for 2015, you can find a reference to the Karat-200 platform, which can be used as a carrier for satellite inspectors, but it is unclear whether it relates to Cosmos-2542.


Illustration from an article in a magazine

The disappearance of doubt


It is worth noting that both devices operate in a sun-synchronous orbit, which is convenient because the satellite flies over different parts of the Earth at about the same local time. In this orbit there are more than a thousand vehicles, and, for example, the Indian satellite Cartosat-3 is working in a close plane , so initially it could be just a coincidence. Only observation of the behavior of the apparatus could shed light on their purpose. And the next move was made by the Americans.


USA 245 shortly after launch, source

On December 9 or 10, USA 245 completed the maneuver, and amateur astronomers lost it. Unlike Russian satellites, whose movements are easily visible in the publicly available catalogs published by NORAD, American vehicles have to be searched for using optical and radio observations, their orbital parameters are determined independently, and after maneuvering, the satellite is found by joint efforts of enthusiasts, but not immediately.

Also began to lift its orbit, "Cosmos-2543." It looked like the American satellite was trying to escape, and the Russians were chasing it. To understand the situation, it was necessary to find USA 245 again. On January 2, Nico Janssen managed to do this, the device was in orbit 286x999 km, and the orbital planes with Cosmos-2542 differed by only 0.26 °. But it still didn’t mean anything - the parameters of the USA 245 orbit did not go beyond the usual optical reconnaissance satellite KH-11, regularly descending to ~ 250-300 km for higher resolution photos and going away to ~ 1000 for general shots, and its maneuver could be routine and planned in advance. But everything became clear at the end of January.

Amateur astronomer Michael Thompson, relying on orbit parameters computed by other enthusiasts, noted that after several maneuvers on January 20-23, Cosmos-2542 ended up in an orbit of 369x915 km (their orbit inclinations are close to 98 ° and beyond they are not specifically designated), lifting it from 368x857, which was very similar to 283x1002 km of USA 245, moreover, it synchronized the orbital period so that the American satellite was constantly in sight and the distance between the two devices varied approximately in the range of 150-500 km. At the same time, Cosmos-2543 flew in a noticeably different orbit of 588 x 861 km, obviously doing its own thing.


4 maneuvers synchronizing the orbital period of Cosmos-2542 (black) with USA 245 (green). Source

The ordinate axis on the graph represents the average orbital period in seconds. Its increase means that Cosmos-2542 raised its orbit, increasing the height of the pericenter (as the numbers above say). And the coincidence of the green and black lines means that the orbital period of the two satellites coincides, and they are in a very close orbit.

And here, according to Michael Thompson, it has become difficult to talk about randomness - the maneuver was performed at the moment of the closest approach of the two satellites, the orbit planes coincided, the total distances ranged from 150 to 300 km, and the orbit parameters were selected so that when leaving the shadow Earth “Cosmos-2542” was on one sideUSA 245, but going into the shadows - on the other: take pictures of the American device from different angles, as much as you want. And it seems that USA 245 at about the same time completed another maneuver, trying to complicate the task for the Russian apparatus, because the projection of the current orbital parameters on February says that the minimum approach distance has increased sharply, and the apparatus will have to diverge in February.


The graph of the distance between the satellites according to the calculations of Michael Thompson at the end of January, the source

But, it seems, the Russian device made another maneuver, again entering a converging orbit. USA-245 did not remain in debt, turning on the engines, most likely, on February 3. Now the devices should come closer in the region of February 24, but it is logical to expect new maneuvers.


The latest schedule from Michael Thompson, February 6,source

It is quite possible to continue the game of catching up, when the Russian device will go into orbits not far from the American one, and the latter, in turn, will try to complicate the rapprochement with the “colleague”. But this cannot go on indefinitely - each maneuver requires fuel, whose reserves are extremely limited. The ability to change your orbit is considered in meters per second delta-V, it is so convenient to compare satellites of different masses and with different propulsion systems. The device, which will first exhaust the delta-V and remain without fuel, will lose - it will be possible to approach it (or you can escape from it) completely unhindered.

So you can stock up on popcorn and watch how the satellites perform all new maneuvers. From the point of view of the law, it is impossible to forbid flying close by in neutral space, which is what satellites-inspectors of different countries use when they eavesdrop on and spy on other devices.

The question naturally arises: “Why does Cosmos-2542 chase after USA-245?” Naturally, the largest hype getsversion of the attack on the American device or preparation for such an attack. But the anti-satellite weapons existing in the USA, China, India, Israel, and possibly Russia, destroy the target immediately, without a long creep. It is more logical to assume that the goals of Cosmos-2542 are reconnaissance. It will be difficult for him to intercept data transmitted from USA-245 to Earth (for this it will be necessary to go below it, having hit the radiation pattern of the transmitting antenna), and it is not known how wide the radiation patterns of ground antennas are in order to be able to listen to control commands transmitted from the Earth . And all this without considering that the traffic is probably encrypted. It is possible to photograph USA-245. Russia has satellite tracking stations that are clearly superior to the capabilities of Ralph Vanderberg, who photographed USA-129 with excellent quality,but when converging, the quality of the photos will be higher than in terrestrial optics. Although, for example, Michael ThompsonHe does not consider such observations particularly useful. Well, do not forget the political factor “we have satellite inspectors”. Four American GSSAPs have been observing the devices of other countries in geostationary orbit for several years, why not let the Americans try a similar dish?

On February 6, NATO General Andre Lanata commented on the situation , calling the Cosmos 2542 a threat to the Allies and complaining that “so far, space has been considered a safe place by all.” On February 10, US Space Forces General John Raymond confirmed that the Russian satellite was approaching 160 km from the American one and called it “unusual, troubling and potentially creating a dangerous situation in space.” And for the most recentUSA 245 is broadcasting something in the S-band, which may mean that it will soon complete another maneuver.

Material prepared for the portal "N + 1" , published in the original edition.

More articles:


All Articles