Is Russia conducting experiments on foreign satellites?

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian Space Forces are conducting experiments with foreign satellites.

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A first military satellite named Noor is launched into orbit by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, in Semnan, Iran April 22, 2020. / (photo credit: WANA/SEPAH NEWS VIA REUTERS)

According to a Russian media site, the Defense Ministry said at the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Space Forces, that the Russian Space Forces are conducting experiments with foreign satellites.

The ministry stated, “Particular attention was paid by specialists of the Main Center for Space Situation Intelligence to monitor the composition and condition of orbital groupings in orbits with spacecraft of foreign states.”

The Defense Ministry also added that “throughout the year, the on-duty means of the Russian missile attack warning system, along with the specialized means of space control and missile defense systems, detected more than 150 launches of foreign and domestic ballistic missiles and space missiles.”

What are the Russian Space Forces?

According to multiple Russian sources, the Russian Space Forces are a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces. They provide aerospace warning, air and space sovereignty, as well as other protection-related things for Russia.

A missile is launched during what state media report is a hypersonic missile test at an undisclosed location in North Korea, January 11, 2022, in this photo released January 12, 2022 by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS/FILE PHOTO)

They started out in 1967 as the Troops of Anti-Missile and Anti-Space Defense and then reorganized into Space Defense Units in 1982.

The Russian Federation was established in 1992 and in 1997, the Space Force was dissolved as a separate service arm. It was at that point that it was incorporated into the Strategic Rocket Forces along with the Space Missile Defense Forces.