Id: 87

Published: 09/15/2025

Description:

Cosmos 2589, a Russian military satellite launched on June 19, released a sub-satellite that was later cataloged as Cosmos 2590 by the 18th Space Defense Squadron on June 26, with both sharing a highly elliptical orbit as visualized in the video's Earth-fixed frame depiction from July 9 to 11. By mid-September 2025, the pair continued performing rendezvous and proximity operations at distances of around 6-15 km, with Cosmos 2590 handling most adjustments while Cosmos 2589 remained largely inactive since its last notable maneuver on July 8, amid fluctuating illumination along their path. This activity likely represents trials of a geostationary-adapted Nivelir inspection technology, conducted far from other satellites for safety, though details on goals, duration, potential additional releases similar to past missions, or eventual shifts to a geostationary configuration remain unclear.