Russian Satellite Maneuvers, Silence Worry Intelsat

SpaceNews ^ | October 9, 2015 | Mike Gruss

[InMemoriam]

WASHINGTON — A mysterious Russian military satellite parked itself between two Intelsat satellites in geosynchronous orbit for five months this year, alarming company executives and leading to classified meetings among U.S. government officials.

The Russian satellite, alternatively known as Luch or Olymp, launched in September 2014 and seven months later moved to a position directly between the Intelsat 7 and Intelsat 901 satellites, which are located within half a degree of one another 36,000 kilometers above the equator. At times, the Russian satellite maneuvered to about 10 kilometers of the Intelsat space vehicles, sources said, a distance so close that company leaders believed their satellites could be at risk.

...

The satellite’s movements were observed months after the Air Force said it was watching two other Russian military satellites, each with maneuvering capabilities that are consistent with, but not necessarily indicative of, an on-orbit antisatellite weapon.

Those satellites, known as Cosmos 2499 and 2504, have been the subject of widespread speculation among space tracking experts and policy analysts. They are among the reasons that Defense Department officials have been sounding alarms over the past year or two about threats to U.S. space systems from China and Russia.

(more at link)

[Purdue77]

Yes it is! What’s your point? It still requires energy to transition from LEO to GEO. And, since you’ll want it to return, it requires energy to go from GEO to LEO to re-entry. Just because it is a mini-shuttle doesn’t give it magical powers.