It may sound like the beginning of a Star Trek plot, but there’s a very real arms race going on in space.
And Russia may have just made the first move.
According to some startling reports, Russian military satellites have apparently launched unknown objects into Earth’s orbit.
Space.com described the trio of Russian satellites as “secretive” objects “whose purpose is unknown.”
“The three satellites, designated Kosmos 2581, 2582 and 2583, launched on a Soyuz-2.1V rocket from Plesetsk cosmodrome early on Feb. 2,” the outlet reports, adding that the satellites “have displayed interesting behavior.”
That behavior includes getting oddly close to other space objects.
That behavior also includes, according to IFL Science, a “new object” being launched into orbit on March 18.
Both reports cited Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and social media spaceflight activity tracker, who noted the mid-March release.
Space Force have cataloged a new object associated with the Kosmos-2581/2582/2583 launch. It may have separated from Kosmos-2583 on Mar 18.
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) March 19, 2025
Is the U.S. behind on satellite technology?
Also in March, U.S. officials spoke to CNN and outright accused Russia of practicing “attack and defend tactics” with its mysterious military space satellites.
“Russia wants to take away our advantages in space, and they don’t care about collateral damage,” one defense official told CNN.
Look, as someone who used to make fun of Trekkies once upon a time (don’t worry, this writer has since converted), it almost seems laughable to be concerned about what’s going on in space, when there are so many major issues right here on Earth.
Who cares what’s going on in space when you’re just trying to make it to your next paycheck?
But it really does matter.
Space is an incredibly vulnerable battlefield for America, both militarily and in terms of information collecting.
Yes, the U.S. Space Force became as much a meme as anything when it was introduced in 2019, but that belies how important it is for America to establish a foothold in space.
Footage of the launch today from the Plesetsk cosmodrome of the Soyuz-2.1b rocket with satellites in the interests of the MoD. pic.twitter.com/H4bou1LdJc
— Blackrussian (@Blackrussiantv) October 27, 2023
It’s something the Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk has frequently touted (Musk is convinced that mankind’s next big step is to live on Mars). Musk’s SpaceX, in fact, is about the best answer to Russian and Chinese space aggression that America has, given the endless government red tape that NASA has to cut through just to order a new coffeemaker for its Houston offices.
Space powers a startling amount of American logistics and force multipliers, so ceding it to any nation — let alone ones that aren’t exactly friendly with America like China and Russia — via negligence would be a grave, self-inflicted error.
And that bears true regardless of whatever it is that those Russian satellites just launched into orbit.
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