MENLO PARK, USA, Oct. 19, 2026 - Russian military satellite Kosmos 2612 manoeuvred close to ICEYE-X36, a commercial US-operated radar satellite, between 15 and 19 October.^[1][2] The tracking firm LeoLabs said it came within roughly 500 metres^[3] and performed several manoeuvres to hold that position.^[4] Other estimates suggest the two may at one point have been only a few metres apart,^[5] and the actual closest distance is unconfirmed.^[6] The Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi reported that the satellite closed to within 26 metres during its pursuit.^[7] ICEYE-X36 is operated by ICEYE US, part of the Finland-based Iceye,^[8][9] and some ICEYE satellites provide imagery to Ukraine.^[10] Kosmos 2612 launched in April 2026.^[11] Space analyst Jonathan McDowell said it appears to be the first unapproved close encounter between two active operational satellites,^[12] and US official Thomas DiNanno called its actions threatening.^[13] LeoLabs did not establish hostile intent.^[14] The 1967 space treaties do not explicitly prohibit such approaches,^[15] and no international standard defines an acceptable distance between satellites.^[16] Iceye says it is tracking the situation closely.^[17] Impact Insight. Satellites in low Earth orbit move at about 7.5 kilometres per second, so even a slow, deliberate approach leaves little margin for error, and a collision there could scatter debris across orbits that many operators use. The radar and optical tracking networks that caught this encounter are part of the same space-surveillance effort that keeps watch over near-Earth space, from satellites and debris to incoming asteroids.