Russian Satellite Cosmos-2612 Shadowed Finnish ICEYE-X36 Craft at 100 Metres, Data Shows

Orbital tracking data indicates that Cosmos-2612, a Russian military satellite launched into low Earth orbit in April, closed to within 100 metres of ICEYE-X36 on October 18. The Finnish-operated spacecraft, flown by ICEYE under a contract with the United States, supplies imagery to Ukraine's military. According to the analysis attributed to Agence France-Presse, the Russian craft began altering its course in late September and ultimately settled into the same orbit as the European commercial satellite, a manoeuvre described as a deliberate adjustment to shadow it. The encounter has drawn attention to Moscow's conduct in orbit and to the hazards of increasingly congested near-Earth space. No collision was reported.