Russia’s space stalkers have been getting uncomfortably close to Europe’s most key satellites.
European security officials believe two Russian space vehicles have intercepted communications from at least a dozen key satellites above the continent. Officials believe the previously unreported interceptions could compromise sensitive data and even give Moscow options to meddle with satellite trajectories or crash them.
Russian vehicles have shadowed European satellites more aggressively for the past three years as tensions have stayed high after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Western military and civilian space teams have tracked Luch-1 and Luch-2 for years, two Russian objects that keep pulling suspicious orbital manoeuvres.
Both vehicles have made risky close approaches to key European geostationary satellites, which sit high above Earth and serve Europe, including the UK, and large parts of Africa and the Middle East. Orbital data and ground-based telescopes show they have lingered nearby for weeks at a time, especially during the past three years.
Since its 2023 launch, Luch-2 has approached 17 European satellites.
A senior European intelligence official said the Luch vehicles were almost certainly trying to place themselves within the narrow cone of data beams sent from ground stations to satellites.
The official is worried because sensitive information, notably command data for some European satellites, is unencrypted. Many of them were launched years ago without advanced onboard computers or encryption, leaving them exposed to future interference or even destruction if hostile actors record the command traffic.
The orbital creeping comes as Russia ramps up “hybrid warfare” across Europe, including sabotage such as cutting subsea internet and power cables. Intelligence and military officials fear the Kremlin could extend that disruption into space and is already building the capability.
While China and the US have similar technologies, Russia has one of the most advanced space-surveillance programmes and has been more aggressive in using vehicles to track satellites.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius said in a speech last September: “Satellite networks are an Achilles heel of modern societies. Whoever attacks them can paralyse entire nations. The Russian activities are a fundamental threat to all of us, especially in space. A threat we must no longer ignore,”
The European satellites approached by Luch-1 and Luch-2 are primarily used for civilian services, such as satellite television, but they also carry sensitive government and some military communications. The European intelligence official said Luch-1 and Luch-2 probably cannot directly jam or destroy satellites, but they have likely gathered extensive data on how to disrupt such systems from the ground or in orbit.
Major Gen Traut said he assumed the Luch satellites had intercepted the “command link” of the satellites they approached, the channel that allows ground controllers to adjust orbits. Analysts say that, with this information, Russia could mimic legitimate operators and send false commands to manipulate thrusters used for small orbital adjustments.
Those thrusters could knock satellites out of alignment, push them into useless drift or even drive a crash back towards Earth. Intelligence from Luch-1 and Luch-2 could also support quieter attacks, because monitoring satellites can reveal who is using them and where, thereby guiding targeted jamming or hacking.
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