Space Satellite related to Russia's nuclear program has come out of control-Reuters

To spread: the secret Russian Space Satellite 2553, which, according to officials of the United States, is related to the nuclear weapons program in space, rotates uncontrollably, and apparently no longer operates. Reuters writes about it. It is noted that this satellite was launched by Russia into outer space in 2022, a few weeks before the invasion of Ukraine.

And over the last year, according to the agency, citing data from the LEOLABS and Slingshot Aerospace Space Space Data, the device has survived several attacks of uncontrolled rotation. The satellite, which is believed, is a platform for the test of nuclear weapons in space capable of destroying the whole satellite networks such as Starlink. Moscow viewed the system from SpaceX as a legitimate military goal, as Ukrainian troops use a wide -band Internet to communicate on the battlefield.

Russia, however, denies that such weapons are developing, and states that Space 2553 is intended for "testing of onboard devices in conditions of high radiation". "But this does not correspond to its characteristics," the US Space Command said. The satellite flies in a relatively isolated orbit at an altitude of about 2000 km above the ground, being in the high cosmic radiation area, which is usually avoided.

Last November, Leolabs found strange satellite movements using the measurement of the Doppler radar from its global landing stations. In December, the company increased its assessment to "high confidence" that the device "overturned". "This observation is convincingly indicating that the satellite is no longer functioning," the Washington strategic and international studies have said.

The US Space Command, which tracks spaces in space, stated that he was aware of the change in the height of the Russian satellite, but refused to provide an additional assessment of his current condition. Slingshot, whose global telescope network has monitored a spacecraft since its launch on February 5, 2022, has previously discovered signs of strange behavior of the object, indicating the potential fall of the satellite.