Pentagon space chief condemns ‘irresponsible’ launch of Russian inspector satellite
Pentagon space chief condemns ‘irresponsible’ launch of Russian inspector satellite
By Brett Tingley published about 21 hours ago
“That’s really irresponsible behavior.”
A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the Kosmos 2558 military satellite from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Aug. 1, 2022. (Image credit: Russian Ministry of Defense)
The Pentagon is speaking out against Russia’s launch of a spy satellite believed to be shadowing one of its American counterparts closely in the same orbit.
The Russian satellite, known as Kosmos 2558, launched on Aug. 1 and appears to have been placed in nearly the same orbit as a classified American reconnaissance satellite that launched on Feb. 2. According to Netherlands-based satellite tracker Marco Langbroek, as of Aug. 2 Kosmos 2558 is mirroring the American satellite’s orbit with a difference of just 0.04 degrees(opens in new tab) and a separation of 37 miles (60 kilometers).
“That’s really irresponsible behavior,” said Gen. James H. Dickinson, Commander of U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) in a report(opens in new tab) released by NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. “We see that it’s in a similar orbit to one of our high-value assets for the U.S. government. And so we’ll continue like we always do, to continue to update that and track that,” Dickinson continued.
