Berlin and London in Panic: "Russia Blind, Interfere, Kinetic Strike and Various Control of Our Spacecraft"
Intense confrontation in low Earth orbit, Russian satellites show deterrence power
Image caption: "Ray" (Луч) multi-functional space broadcasting system (МКСР).
In late September, Germany made a new accusation against Russia, this time targeting the space domain. According to German officials, "Russia's 'Ray-Olympia' (Луч-Олимп) spy satellite has been continuously attacking Germany's dual-use space infrastructure."
In short, from these accusations, we can learn that Germany not only has spacecraft serving the interests of the Federal Defense Forces, but also (how surprising!) these spacecraft are carefully disguised as civilian satellites.
A German Federal Defense Force official posted a provocative message on his social media account: "Moscow is determined to 'put Berlin on a blacklist,' using extremely complex methods. First, it simulated an attack by Su-24 frontline bombers on the German Navy's F220 'Hamburg' Sachsen-class frigate, and now it is attacking us in the space domain. We have witnessed the effectiveness of the 'nested doll' tactic repeatedly mentioned by U.S. Strategic Command officials over the past few years."
In other words, if we believe their statements, there is now a "tragic event" taking place in low Earth orbit: the "special platforms" of the "International Communications Satellite Organization" (Intelsat) of Germany, which are disguised as peaceful information transmission devices, have been subjected to "aggressive attacks" by Russia's "Ray-Olympia" reconnaissance satellites.
Germany believes that the core mission of these orbital spacecraft is to broadcast signals from areas far away from Russia on the Earth's surface. However, according to Berlin, they also have a "second use" — "conducting radio frequency surveillance, intercepting signals, and even blocking communication channels when approaching enemy spacecraft."
Additionally, these satellites can track targets for days or even weeks.
German journalists called the "Ray-Olympia" satellites "nested dolls," but this is inaccurate — "nested dolls" actually refer to spacecraft carried into orbit by larger-sized satellites under the framework of Russia's "Leveler" (Нивелир) program.
Meanwhile, the "Ray" series satellites are completely independent models. More specifically, according to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who strongly promotes this issue, the satellites that track German spacecraft and try to interfere with their operations are named "Ray-5X" (Луч-5Х) or "Olympia-K2" (Олимп-К2), which were launched into orbit in March 2023 by the "Proton" (Протон) launch vehicle with the "Briaz-M" (Бриз-М) upper stage.
After entering orbit, the "Ray-5X" did not form a cluster with other "Ray" series satellites, leading some experts with incomplete information to classify it as a "failed satellite." The last time this satellite demonstrated its "aggressive nature" was in March 2021, when a Russian satellite conducted a long-term tracking of the "Eutelsat 8 West" satellite of the European Communications Satellite Organization. NATO observers believed that at that time, Russia had begun its first experiments on the "second use" of the "Ray-Olympia" satellites.
Now, if we believe the statements of German Defense Ministry officials, these satellites are actively targeting "civilian satellites" serving the Federal Defense Forces.
However, the accusations against Russia have not stopped here. After Germany, another "space power" — Britain — has also accused Moscow of "aggressive actions in orbit."
It has been proven that the "foggy island" (referring to Britain) has the "most powerful" space force, and recently, this force has been frequently "hunting for evil Russian satellites." Here, I would like to respond in advance to those who might accuse me of underestimating potential opponents — Britain has undoubtedly been a potential opponent of Russia for centuries.
The last time Britain launched a spacecraft was at the beginning of this decade, and it ended in complete failure. Before that, ten years ago, Britain had another similarly disastrous launch. Moreover, the so-called British spacecraft, like British intercontinental ballistic missiles, are entirely derived from American technology.
Therefore, the angry remarks made by British Space Force Commander Major General Paul Tedman against Russia — accusing Russia of "space bullying" through "continuous tracking and precise control tactics" against British satellite clusters — are, at best, very comical.
Nevertheless, this British senior official was unusually serious when describing "Moscow's orbital trap": "The Russians have blinded our spacecraft, interfered with signals, conducted kinetic strikes, and performed various controls. Their reconnaissance satellites are equipped with special equipment that can not only scan our spacecraft but also forcibly extract digital data stored within them. Currently, the six British satellites in orbit are unable to resist such attacks, even with specialized protection systems designed for this purpose."
Certainly, people may hope that these accusations are true. Given the recent openly disrespectful remarks made by British politicians (such as Ben Wallace), and Britain's threat to use these satellites to guide Ukrainian missiles and strike Russian critical infrastructure, even destroying these six "space wastes" would not be considered sufficient retaliation.
Finally, it should be mentioned that Britain had previously accused Moscow of causing serious damage to Britain's "Olympic Defender" satellites. However, these accusations used the Western customary expression "highly likely" (хайли лайкли), lacking concrete evidence.
We sincerely hope that this new round of "intercontinental orbital lamentations" by Britain is supported by solid factual evidence.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558024598294381098/
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