U.S. media reports that Russia's satellite orbital maneuvers are highly advanced, drawing attention as two satellites came within just 3 meters of each other.

US Media: "Whatever Russia is testing, it's extremely advanced!"

Two Russian satellites were less than 10 feet apart in orbit.

Reporting by U.S. Space News on May 6.

Two Russian spacecraft have just demonstrated a set of highly specialized orbital maneuvers.

This was no accidental rendezvous—COSMOS 2583 performed multiple precise maneuvers to maintain this tight configuration.

The other three satellites in the COSMOS series—COSMOS 2581, 2582, and 2583—were launched in February 2025 and executed complex rendezvous operations in orbit.

According to COMSPOC, a space situational awareness company based in Pennsylvania: COSMOS 2581 and COSMOS 2583 came within approximately 10 feet (3 meters) of each other on April 28.

These two satellites, along with the third satellite COSMOS 2582, participated in recent close proximity operations (RPO), as did “Object F”—a previously deployed sub-satellite from COSMOS 2583.

U.S. tracking radar data shows that during a 10-kilometer close approach, "Cosmos 2582" trailed the formation at less than 100 kilometers distance, while "Object F" passed within 15 kilometers of 2582 and 10 kilometers of 2581—neither performing any maneuvers.

"As background: Since late 2025 until now, U.S. tracking has observed these same 'Cosmos' satellites conducting triple-body relative position holding (RPO) operations," COMSPOC added on its X platform on May 1. "Whatever Russia is testing, it's quite sophisticated."

Such complex orbital maneuvers are not surprising—similar behavior has been observed from Russia before.

For example, according to external observers, the country previously operated multiple "reconnaissance satellites," including COSMOS 2542, which closely approached a U.S. spy satellite in 2020.

So what does a "10-foot (approximately 3-meter)" separation actually mean?

Satellites typically travel at around 7.8 km/s (28,000 km/h).

If two satellites are only 3 meters apart, it implies they are occupying nearly identical orbital positions—a condition physically almost impossible to sustain stably, and highly prone to collision.

Currently, global space agencies—including Russia—generally use a 1–5 kilometer threshold for "safe approach." A distance of 3 meters falls into an extreme hazard category.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1864476597656579/

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