LeoLabs says Russian satellite made close approach to ICEYE-X36

The encounter raises concern that military spacecraft can deliberately shadow commercial satellites in low-Earth orbit.

LeoLabs says a Russian military satellite, Kosmos 2612, made a deliberate close approach to the commercial Earth-imaging satellite ICEYE-X36, which it describes as the first known unsanctioned rendezvous in low-Earth orbit. The maneuver mattered because ICEYE-X36 is a US-operated satellite used in a context tied to Ukraine, making the event an example of how military spacecraft can shadow commercial assets in orbit. LeoLabs said Kosmos 2612 moved from hundreds of kilometers away to extreme proximity, circled near the target for some time, and then pulled off. US military officials and independent analysts have been tracking Kosmos 2612 since its April launch on a Soyuz rocket from northern Russia, and they say at least four of the six satellites from that launch later matched orbit with ICEYE-X36.