Russian Luch/Olymp satellite falls behind Western systems in orbit
Russia's second Luch/Olymp satellite, known as Luch-5X or Olymp-K-2, has been observed maneuvering near non-Russian satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), according to private sector space watchers. California startup Slingshot Aerospace used its ground-based telescopes and analytical tools to predict the satellite's movements, which were found to be accurate. While the satellite did not come dangerously close to other satellites, its behavior has been deemed potentially unfriendly. The first Luch/Olymp satellite caused concern among defense officials, and the recent efforts by US Space Command to develop rapid satellite movement capabilities may be partly motivated by the need to avoid adversary RPO (rendezvous and proximity operations) satellites like Luch/Olymp. The new Luch/Olymp satellite has been observed near commercially owned satellites, including a Eutelsat communications satellite.