COMSPOC_OPS
@COMSPOC_OPS • 2,183 subscribers
COMSPOC's Operations Team | Technical experts in orbital analysis, maneuver detection, and near real-time space tracking | Advancing Space Domain Awareness.
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Shijian-31: a satellite with an orbit we have never seen before China launched Shijian-31 on June 16 from Xichang, officially described as a "space environment detection" mission. The orbital elements suggest more going on. The inclination 63.46° sits at the value where perigee advance goes to zero. Anyone who's tracked Molniya-class satellites will recognize that immediately. But the resemblance stops there. A classic Molniya parks its apogee over high northern latitudes and dwells for hours, that's the whole design premise. SJ-31's argument of perigee is 171°, which puts perigee near the equator and its apogee on the opposite side. (Image 1: SJ-31 at 171° argument of perigee vs. a generic Molniya at 270° argument of perigee.) So the long dwell isn't over any particular latitude — it's over altitude. Apogee reaches ~39,900 km, about 4,100 km above the operational GEO belt where comms and missile-warning satellites sit. Nearly a third of each 12.5-hour orbit is spent above that shell, crossing it twice per pass at a steep 63° angle. (Video 1: SJ-31's orbit visualized with example GEO assets.) It's also not fixed on one region. The period is just off a clean repeating ground track, so the sub-apogee point slowly drifts around the globe — sweeping past every longitude roughly once every 24 days. Net effect: an orbit that periodically looks down on the entire GEO belt from above, at an angle, on a rotating schedule, rather than fixating on one target. What's it actually doing up there? SpaceNews Breaking Defense Joey Roulette Space Domain Awareness Jonathan McDowell Integrity ISR
COMSPOC_OPS285,589 просмотров • 4 дней назад
🛰️Russian satellites multi-object proximity event in LEO Radar tracking data via LeoLabs, processed through COMSPOC SSA Suite. This week we observed a complex proximity event involving Russian satellites: COSMOS 2581, 2582, 2583, and Object F (a subsatellite released by 2583). The highlight: COSMOS 2581 and 2583 achieved a closest approach of ~3 meters on 28 April at UTC, with near-zero relative velocity. This wasn't a coincidental pass — COSMOS 2583 performed several fine maneuvers to maintain this tight configuration. Meanwhile, COSMOS 2582 trailed the formation at sub-100 km range, while Object F passed within 15 km of 2582 and within 10 km of 2581 — neither maneuvered. For context: in late 2025 to now, we tracked these same COSMOS satellites performing 3-object RPO. These satellites launched 5 February 2025. Whatever Russia is testing, it's sophisticated. SpaceNews Spaceflight Now Breaking Defense Joey Roulette Space Domain Awareness Jonathan McDowell #RPO #SSA #Russia #Space
COMSPOC_OPS119,453 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад
![Pakistan's PRSC-EO3: an unusual orbit for an optical satellite Radar tracking via Leonardo Avella. Processed via COMSPOC SSA. PRSC-EO3 (visualized in cyan) launched April 25, 2026 on a Long March 6. It's an optical imager — but its orbit is curious. Most optical LEO satellites use sun-synchronous orbits (~97-105° inclination), which provide consistent lighting for imaging. PRSC-EO3 is in a 38° inclined orbit instead. This sacrifices global coverage and consistent lighting, but increases revisit rates over a specific latitude band: 20-40°N. That's India, Kashmir, and Pakistan. Now consider PRSC-S1 (visualized in pink), Pakistan's SAR satellite launched July 2025, sitting in a 41° orbit. Similar inclination, similar altitude — but their RAANs are ~175° out of phase. When one passes over South Asia in daylight, the other passes in darkness. SAR works day and night. Optical needs sunlight. The geometry appears to allow complementary coverage. We ran the access analysis [Image 1]. The SAR sensor (unconstrained) and optical sensor (daytime-constrained) together provide repeatable revisit across day and night. The gaps left by one are filled by the other. Then there's PRSC-HS1 — a hyperspectral satellite in SSO [Image 2], capable of detecting camouflage and identifying materials from orbit. Optical shows you the picture. SAR shows you the picture at night and through weather. Hyperspectral tells you what you're looking at. Five remote sensing satellites in 16 months [Image 2]. All launched by China. All with orbits favoring South Asian coverage. The stated missions are civilian. The orbital architecture appears consistent with a multi-modal ISR constellation. Space Domain Awareness , Jonathan McDowell, Joey Roulette, SpaceNews , Integrity ISR #Pakistan #Space #SAR #ISR #PRSC](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2052513564619874630/amplify_video_thumb/2052512165085462528/img/g5n2csaRpAOvyX6T.jpg)
Pakistan's PRSC-EO3: an unusual orbit for an optical satellite Radar tracking via Leonardo Avella. Processed via COMSPOC SSA. PRSC-EO3 (visualized in cyan) launched April 25, 2026 on a Long March 6. It's an optical imager — but its orbit is curious. Most optical LEO satellites use sun-synchronous orbits (~97-105° inclination), which provide consistent lighting for imaging. PRSC-EO3 is in a 38° inclined orbit instead. This sacrifices global coverage and consistent lighting, but increases revisit rates over a specific latitude band: 20-40°N. That's India, Kashmir, and Pakistan. Now consider PRSC-S1 (visualized in pink), Pakistan's SAR satellite launched July 2025, sitting in a 41° orbit. Similar inclination, similar altitude — but their RAANs are ~175° out of phase. When one passes over South Asia in daylight, the other passes in darkness. SAR works day and night. Optical needs sunlight. The geometry appears to allow complementary coverage. We ran the access analysis [Image 1]. The SAR sensor (unconstrained) and optical sensor (daytime-constrained) together provide repeatable revisit across day and night. The gaps left by one are filled by the other. Then there's PRSC-HS1 — a hyperspectral satellite in SSO [Image 2], capable of detecting camouflage and identifying materials from orbit. Optical shows you the picture. SAR shows you the picture at night and through weather. Hyperspectral tells you what you're looking at. Five remote sensing satellites in 16 months [Image 2]. All launched by China. All with orbits favoring South Asian coverage. The stated missions are civilian. The orbital architecture appears consistent with a multi-modal ISR constellation. Space Domain Awareness , Jonathan McDowell, Joey Roulette, SpaceNews , Integrity ISR #Pakistan #Space #SAR #ISR #PRSC
COMSPOC_OPS58,022 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад
👀USA 325 keeps an eye on COSMOS 2589 as it settles into GEO COSMOS 2589 🇷🇺 (launched last June) spent the past few weeks circularizing its orbit before parking at ~98°E. USA 325 🇺🇸 (GSSAP-6) was watching the whole time. Things got interesting around April 19th when COSMOS 2589 actually drifted past USA 325 mid-maneuver. USA 325 repositioned, and by late April both were sitting at the same longitude. From there, observation passes came twice a day due to their different inclinations. Closest was ~13 km on 1 May, with sun angles lining up nicely for a good look. 3D visualization attached — you can really see how COSMOS 2589 tightened its orbit while USA 325 adjusted to stay in position. This is what GSSAP does: when something new shows up in GEO, they're there to take a look. Analysis via COMSPOC SSASuite. SpaceNews Spaceflight Now Breaking Defense Joey Roulette Space Domain Awareness Jonathan McDowell #GSSAP #COSMOS #GEO #SDA
COMSPOC_OPS11,846 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад
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