Russia feared to be 'inspecting' US spy satellite with new space weapon

US intelligence officials believe Russia's Cosmos 2576 'inspector' spacecraft is capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit

Russia last week reportedly launched its Cosmos 2576 'inspector' satellite in the path of an American spy satellite, with the US intelligence assessment being that the Russian spacecraft is a weapon capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites. 

The launch of the alleged Russian space weapon was announced by the US Space Command on Tuesday and reported by Reuters. 

At present, the Russian spacecraft is trailing an American spy satellite in orbit, according to the news agency. 

The report said that a Russian Soyuz rocket, which took off on May 16, deployed at least nine satellites, including the Cosmos 2576, in low-Earth orbit. The Cosmos 2576 is described as a type of a Russian military "inspector" spacecraft, which US officials have said have exhibited reckless space behaviour in the past.

In a statement to Reuters, a USSPACECOM spokesperson said that the US has observed the spacecraft's activity, arriving at the assessment that it is likely a "counter-space weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit". The spokesperson added that Russia has deployed this new counter-space weapon "into the same orbit as a US government satellite". 

Cosmos 2576 resembles other counter-space payloads deployed by Russia from 2019 and 2022, the spokesperson's statement went on to say, referring to a tactic used by Russia previously -- deploying its satellites close to sensitive American spy satellites. 

The May 16 Russian space launch also included civilian satellites, which were deployed to different orbits. An analyst tracking the Russian space programme told the news agency that Russia mixing its military and civilian payloads together "was totally unexpected". The analyst added: "Never seen that before on a Russian launch."

As of Tuesday, Cosmos 2576 had not gone near a US satellite, said the report. However, it added that space analysts had observed that the Russian satellite was in the same orbital ring as USA 314, a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite launched in 2021. The NRO is a US intelligence agency overseeing the country's spy satellites. 

Cosmos 2576 appears to be trailing this American satellite's orbital path at a faster speed, which could mean that the two spacecrafts will eventually come into closer proximity, the news agency found after reviewing public data available with the US Space Command. 

Cosmos 2576 also appears to be similar to Russian satellites launched in 2019 and 2022. The US has claimed that those satellites were also counter-space weapons. According to the agency report, the Russian satellite launched in 2019 ejected an object into space and then closely followed an NRO satellite.   

The deployment of Cosmos 2576 comes amid US allegations that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear weapon that will be capable of destroying entire satellite networks.

According to the agency report, American officials believe that Russia has already launched at least one satellite, called the Cosmos 2553, in relation to its nuclear space weapon programme. 

However, US officials say that Russia has not deployed an actual nuclear weapon in space yet, added the report. The US and Russia have also been locking horns at the United Nations Security Council over satellite weapons. 

For its part, since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has threatened to attack American satellites aiding Ukraine's military, such as SpaceX’s Starlink network.