Russian Spacecraft Intercept German, Intelsat Satellites

Russian spacecraft have intercepted the communications of at least a dozen key satellites over Europe, security officials said, Kieran Kelly reported for The Telegraph.

Security officials believe the spacecraft has made risky approaches to some of Europe’s most important satellites serving the continent, including the UK, as well as parts of Africa and the Middle East.

Such interceptions not only risk compromising sensitive information transmitted by the satellites but could also allow Moscow to manipulate their trajectories or even crash them, officials told The Financial Times.

Russian spacecraft have increasingly trailed European satellites in recent years amid heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine, underscoring how space is becoming a new frontier in warfare.

Both military and civilian space authorities have been tracking the activities of Russia’s Luch-1 and Luch-2, which have been observed carrying out suspicious maneuvers.

Security officials believe the spacecraft has made risky approaches to some of Europe’s most important satellites serving the continent, including the UK, as well as parts of Africa and the Middle East.

The vehicles often linger for weeks at a time, with Luch-2 known to have approached at least 17 satellites.

Maj. Gen. Michael Traut, head of the German military’s space command, told the Financial Times that both Luch-1 and Luch-2 would often stay close to Western communications satellites in what is known as “signals intelligence” activity.