What is Putin doing in space? Secretive Russian ‘killer satellite' detected launching mystery probe near US spacecraft
Kosmos-2558 is a Russian military satellite that is currently on an orbital path which is suspiciously close to USA-326 - an American spy satellite.
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Kosmos-2558 as seen on June 28
Credit: TU Delft
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Just 16 seconds later, a new flying object called Object C can be seen moving in the same direction but on a different orbit
Credit: TU Delft
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Russians launched Cosmos-2576 on a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome, some 497 miles north of Moscow
Credit: East2West
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The 14F150 Nivelir-type satellite was deployed into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) - and has presumably been stalking the US space asset since 2022.
It is believed to have the capacity to constantly monitor enemy spy satellites and potentially shoot them down if needed.
Space program researchers have now detected a new object that appeared to have separated from the Russian inspector satellite on June 26.
The new flying object, named 2025-089C or simply Object C, appeared to be a subsatellite that was launched by Kosmos-2558.
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It was filmed on 28 June 2025 from Leiden, the Netherlands, using a powerful astronomy camera.
The clip shows Kosmos 2558 passing through the frame.
Just 16 seconds later, Object C can be seen moving in the same direction but on a different orbit.
It is believed that Object C is a highly manoeuvrable sub-satellite with onboard high-speed kinetic anti-satellite weapons.
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Two earlier Russian satellites of the same type, Kosmos-2519 and 2542, also released subsatellites, which were designated Cosmos-2521 and 2543.
Bart Hendrickx, a long-time space researcher and Russian space program expert, wrote in his blog: "Both of those [Russian] satellites showed significant manoeuvring capability and each fired a high-speed projectile that was interpreted by the Pentagon as an anti-satellite weapon.
Billionaire battle goes interstellar as Musk v Bezos ignites 21st-century space race - who will win?
"This happened when they were flying in the vicinity of other Russian satellites."
Last year, Putin launched a terrifying weapon system into space capable of killing other satellites.
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The Pentagon said that the
The Russian space object believed to be Cosmos-2576 was launched on May 16 on a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome, some 497 miles north of
It is now following American spy satellite USA 314, operated by the US National Reconnaissance Office.
An unofficial Russian source claimed the launch carried a "secret military device".
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While it was previously reported as a Russian space satellite, the US has now warned it could be a counter-space weapon capable of attacking other such tech.
Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Pat Ryder said: "Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we assess is likely a counter-space weapon.
Terrifying space weapons of the future
Rods from God
A strange but utterly terrifying weapon has been dubbed 'rods from the God' and is based on the concept of creating man-made meteorites that can be guided towards the enemy.
Instead of using rocks, rods the size of telephone poles are deployed.
These would be made out of tungsten — a rare metal that can stand the intense heat generated by entering Earth's atmosphere.
One satellite fires the rods towards the Earth's atmosphere while the other steers them to a target on the ground.
Reaching speeds of 7000mph they hit the ground with the force of a small nuclear weapon — but crucially creating no radiation fall out.
As bizarre as it sounds, a US Congressional report recently revealed the military has been pushing ahead with the kinetic space weapons.
Molten metal cannons
This intriguing idea is being developed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
It is called the Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition or MAHEM.
This game changing rail-gun can fire a jet of molten metal, hurled through space at several hundred miles per second by the most powerful electromagnets ever built.
The molten metal can then morph into an aerodynamic slug during flight and pierce through another spacecraft or satellite and a munition explodes inside.
Space force ships
Already the United States is powering head with its spacecraft, although China is busy developing one of their own.
The top-secret American XS-1 is under development by DARPA.
It can travel ten times the speed of sound and launch missiles.
Meanwhile an unmanned craft is currently being developed in the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Centre in Mianyang, Sichuan province, which is also known as Base 29.
"It was deployed into the same orbit as a US government satellite and assessments further indicate characteristics resembling previously deployed counter space payloads from 2019 and 2022."
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"We will continue to monitor the situation ... we have a responsibility to be ready to protect and defend the space domain and ensure continuous and uninterrupted support to the joint and combined force."
Russia's Roskosmos state space agency said the launch was "in the interests of the defence ministry of the Russian Federation".
In 2023, US intelligence chiefs warned that
that would destroy satellites in a
.
Read more on the Irish Sun
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Russia is feared to be planning to use anti-satellite nuclear weapons in orbit
Credit: Getty - Contributor
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