Report: Russian Nuclear-linked Satellite ‘Spinning Uncontrollably’

A Russian satellite potentially linked to the country’s nuclear weapons program is “spinning uncontrollably” and appears to no longer be functioning, according to space tracking data.

The erratic spinning has been going on intermittently for the past year, according to radar data from space-tracking firm LeoLabs and optical data from Slingshot Aerospace shared with Reuters. The US has previously alleged that the Russian satellite, known as Cosmos 2553, may be part of a weapons program, that would enable Russia to bring down enemy satellite networks.

In a Pentagon press briefing last year, Major General Patrick Ryder said the Russian satellite is likely to be “a counter-space weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit,” explaining that it resembled “previously deployed counter-space payloads from 2019 and 2022.”

Though the spinning satellite itself is not thought to be a weapon by US analysts, it is believed to be a radar acting as a component of the wider anti-satellite military program. The Russian government has so far vehemently denied it is developing such a program.

According to Belinda March, Slingshot’s chief science officer, Cosmos 2553 now appears to have stopped spinning at the time of writing.

Russia has been accused of demonstrating anti-satellite capabilities before. In 2021, the US State Department claimed that the Russian government conducted a “dangerous and irresponsible” anti-satellite weapons test against one of its own satellites, creating potentially dangerous debris that could endanger astronauts and the International Space Station.

Russian officials, at least covertly, have threatened US space infrastructure before. In 2022, Konstantin Vorontsov, who was reportedly a former acting Deputy Director of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Department, called the use of civilian and commercial space infrastructure an “extremely dangerous trend.” He added that this “quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation.” SpaceX’s Starlink has so far been instrumental in the Ukrainian war effort.

It’s not just Russia that is allegedly investing heavily in space warfare capabilities. Earlier this year, General Michael Guetlein, the vice chief for the US Space Force, told Breaking Defense that Chinese satellites appeared to be practicing “dog fighting” in space. This means they were allegedly rehearsing movements that could allow them to take enemy satellites “hostage” while they were in orbit.

About Will McCurdy

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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