【AI前沿】Three's a party: US, China, and now Russia are on the prowl in GEO

Let’s take a lookThree’s a party: US, China, and now Russia are on the prowl in GEOInstead of running silent and deep, most satellites easily stand out against the blackness of space.Stephen Clark‚ÄìMay 15, 2026 3:11 pm|14This visualization from COMSPOC shows the US Space Force’s USA-325 satellite flying near Russia’s Kosmos 2589 satellite in geosynchronous orbit May 1.Credit:

      COMSPOCThis visualization from COMSPOC shows the US Space Force's USA-325 satellite flying near Russia's Kosmos 2589 satellite in geosynchronous orbit May 1.Credit:

      COMSPOCText
    settingsStory textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth*StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers onlyLearn moreMinimize to navThe world’s leading space powers desperately want to know what the others are up to high above the equator. For more than a decade, the US military has operated a fleet of “inspector” satellites designed to sidle up to other spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit and take pictures. China started launching its satellites for a similar mission in 2018.Ars haswritten about these activitiesin geosynchronous orbit (GEO) before, but the last few months have seen a couple of interesting developments. First, Russia has now joined the fray with the recent arrival of its own suspected inspector (or attack) satellite in GEO. Second, the US Space Force is poised to order more—perhaps many more—reconnaissance satellites of its own to send into the geosynchronous belt.GEO is special. The laws of orbital mechanics mean a satellite in this type of orbit, some 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) over the equator, moves around the Earth at the same rate as the planet’s rotation, causing it to hover over the same location. Commercial and military-owned geosynchronous satellites typically spend years in the same location, or slot, to provide communications services to users.Until now, Russia’s spying in geosynchronous orbit has primarily focused on eavesdropping on foreign communications. Russia launched two satellites,Olymp or Luch, to wander around geosynchronous orbit, moving from slot to slot to loiter near Western-owned communications satellites for several months at a time. The goal, according to Western analysts, was to listen in on or potentially jam signals relayed through these satellites, some of which route secure communications for US and NATO military forces.The trend today is geared toward reconnaissance and surveillance in GEO. Military forces and intelligence agencies want to know where other satellites are located, what they look like, and what they’re capable of doing. The US military’sGeosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP)satellites, which began launching in 2014, do exactly this by roaming the geosynchronous belt, using propulsive maneuvers to make slight changes to altitude and inclination to move within a few dozen miles of Chinese and Russian satellites, close enough for optical telescopes to get a good look.The Space Force has often compared the GSSAP satellites to a “neighborhood watch” in geosynchronous orbit. For example, one GSSAP satellite positioned itself near a pair of Chinese spacecraft performing a first-of-its-kind refueling demonstration in geosynchronous orbit last year.China has launched multiple satellitescapable of similar maneuvers. One of these satellites, named TJS-10, is currently flying relatively close to a nuclear-hardened US Space Force strategic communications satellite and a US missile warning platform, according to anupdate this weekin the Integrity Flash newsletter published by ISR University.Ready Player ThreeA new kind of Russian satellite is now in the mix. This satellite, officially known as Kosmos 2589, was launched in June 2025 into a highly elliptical orbit alongside a smaller spacecraft designated Kosmos 2590. The two satellites performed a series of high-altitude rendezvous and proximity operations with one another before Kosmos 2589 began moving toward a more circular geosynchronous orbit, where it arrived in April.One of the US military’s GSSAP satellites was waiting for it. The US inspector spacecraft is now looping around Kosmos 2589, swinging near the newly arrived Russian satellite twice per day, coming as close as 8 miles (13 kilometers) on May 1, according todata from COMSPOC, a commercial space situational awareness company. The exact purpose of Kosmos 2589 remains unclear. Some Western officials suspect it is a higher-altitude version ofRussia’s Nivelir anti-satellite system, which has been tested in low-Earth orbit and is now becoming operational.The video below, published by COMSPOC, shows the orbital dance between a GSSAP satellite named USA-325 and Kosmos 2589.👀USA 325 keeps an eye on COSMOS 2589 as it settles into GEOCOSMOS 2589 🇷🇺 (launched last June) spent the past few weeks circularizing its orbit before parking at ~98°E. USA 325 🇺🇸 (GSSAP-6) was watching the whole time.Things go