Four Russian satellites are now at the maximum distance from the ICEYE radarsat

According to Gillinger, the distance between the four Russian satellites and ICEYE-X36 is now between about 500 meters (1,640 feet) and 22 kilometers (13.7 miles). All of this is happening around the poles at an altitude of about 340 miles (547 kilometers).

Russian satellite operators can now lock the ICEYE satellite with “small changes” in “satellite eccentricity and averagealtitudes,” Gillinger wrote in his letter. A fifth satellite from the same Russian launch last month now appears to be making a similar approach to ICEYE-X36.

Co-planar or cosplay?

We know little about what the Kosmos satellites will do. Perhaps, as a retired US military officer recently told Ars, this is another example of Russia making subtle noises. Russian military officials seem to enjoy tracking US and allied forces, often flying cruise missiles near US and European airspace.

The same trend now appears to be expanding into space, where Russia has installed a series of military installations that point the U.S. government’s advanced satellites into orbit several hundred miles above the Earth’s surface. US officials believe that some of the Russian satellites are part of the anti-satellite program.

Recently, a A mysterious Russian military satellite has arrived in a geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles across the equator. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this, too, may be part of Russia’s anti-satellite system. The US Space Force sent one of its observation satellites into geosynchronous orbit to take a closer look.

Radar image of a bridge in Crimea taken by the ICEYE satellite.

Credit: IT

Tracking a single spacecraft, such as ICEYE-X36, in a constellation of similar satellites will not prevent Ukraine or other Western countries from acquiring radar images. ICEYE, by itself, uses many other radar simulation satellites. Unlike spy satellites, radars provide images day and night, regardless of cloud cover.