Free Republic

A Russian satellite believed to be part of Moscow’s nuclear anti-satellite weapon program appears to be malfunctioning, with erratic movements suggesting it may no longer be operational. The development could be a major blow to Russia’s military space ambitions, US analysts said. Cosmos 2553 was launched just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Over the past year, it has shown signs of uncontrolled tumbling, according to radar data from LeoLabs and optical tracking shared by Slingshot Aerospace with Reuters. The satellite is believed to serve as both a radar tool for intelligence gathering and a platform for radiation testing....

A mysterious Russian satellite with a shady mission has broken apart in Earth's orbit, creating a hazardous cloud of debris zipping around the planet and menacing other satellites, US Space Force announced. The 18th Space Defense Squadron said on Twitter Monday that it had confirmed a satellite called Kosmos 2499 had broken apart into 85 pieces. Previous collisions and satellite break-ups have created far larger and more hazardous debris fields than this. But the pieces of Kosmos 2499 are orbiting at an altitude of about 745 miles — so high that they'll probably be there for a century or longer...