A Russian “spy satellite”, Kosmos 2558 may be stalking an American spy satellite. Here’s all you need to know about the new “eye in space”.
What is the Kosmos 2558?
Kosmos 2558, a new Russian satellite is rumored to be an inspector aircraft. In February 2022, the US launched 326, a spy satellite aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9. As per a report by Space.com even before the Russian satellite’s launch rumors of it being a spy satellite to keep an eye on its US counterpart have been floating.
“Before the launch, there was a rumor that this was another ‘inspector’ satellite – a snooping satellite meant to covertly inspect another satellite,” stated Marco Langbroek. Langbroek is a satellite tracker based in the Netherlands.
Additionally, he added that the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) or longitude “of the newly launched Kosmos 2558 matches the RAAN of USA 326 closely. With a difference of only 0.04 degree (changing by about 0.01 degree/day)”. “With the current orbit, Kosmos 2558 will make a relatively close approach to USA 236 on August 4 near 14:47 UTC. The approach distance is ~75 km, almost all of that (73 km) is in altitude,” explained Langbroek.
More on the spy satellite
However, this isn’t Russia’s first attempt at stalking in space. According to Langbroek, they did something a similar couple of years ago. () “In early 2020, Russia did something similar with Kosmos 2542/2543, directing it towards the KH-11 electro-optical reconnaissance satellite USA 245,” he stated. However, the reason behind this is linked to America’s mission. As per the mission data from NASA’s archives, the USA 326 is a “classified payload”. However, it is widely assumed to be a next-gen electro-optical Imagery intelligence or IMINT satellite.
According to the Drive, SpaceX and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) are working on NROL-87. NROL-87 is a secret national security program for this mission. As per an NRO statement released following the launch, it is for supporting “overhead reconnaissance mission”. The mission is to focus on ensuring national security. It fulfills the need by utilizing space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
