Russian SpaceWeb
By the beginning of 2015, the Russian military successfully completed the initial testing phase of a new-generation robotic spacecraft designed to inspect and destroy enemy satellites in orbit, reliable sources said. A much more sophisticated vehicle than previous-generation anti-satellite systems, also known as ASAT, the new satellite killer proved its ability to make a very close approach to its targets and send close-up images of them to ground control. However the ultimate goal of the new vehicle would be the destruction of foreign payloads, first of all, US military satellites. Following the launch of two test satellites under the cover names Kosmos-2491 and Kosmos-2499, the latest spacecraft in the series, designated Kosmos-2504, entered orbit on March 31, 2015, and, after a series of maneuvers, hit its test target around April 16. The orbital maneuvers continued in July.
New-generation system
According to one source, by the beginning of 2015, the Russian killer satellite, most likely Kosmos-2499, had already passed near by and downlinked images of an American military satellite! So far, there was no confirmation of such an encounter by the US government. Although orbital parameters of US satellites are not officially published, amateur data allows to rule out the possibility of practically all known non-Russian satellites flying in matching orbits with Kosmos-2504 or its siblings, says Jonathan McDowell, a scientist at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a veteran space historian. As a result, a formation flying or a rendezvous with a low relative speed between the Russian and any foreign satellite, like the one observed between Kosmos-2499 and its Briz-KM stage would not be possible. However, "a fast flyby at a high relative velocity is certainly possible, and I can't rule that out," McDowell wrote in an e-mail.
With enough maneuverability, the new Russian anti-satellite vehicles could use lasers or small-size kinetic weapons instead of explosives and shrapnel to disable their targets. The miniature spacecraft could then back up and attack another satellite. However, with the relatively small size of observed Russian satellites, their maneuvering capability is likely limited. At the same time, they could be only precursors to larger, more capable spacecraft.
Highly clandestine tests of the latest Russian anti-satellite system coincided with the worsening of relations between the West and East over the crisis in Ukraine. In addition, years of joint Russian and Chinese efforts in the United Nations to introduce a ban on deployment of weapons in space has also gone nowhere due to the US position that such a treaty would be unverifiable and meaningless. Ironically, China and the US both proved that point by destroying orbital targets by missiles based on Earth.
Launch of Kosmos-2504
A Rockot booster launched three Gonets-M satellites No. 21, 22 and 23 comprising Block No. 14 of the Gonets-D1M network, and a classified military payload.
According to official media, the Rockot/Briz-KM lifted off on March 31, 2015, at 16:47:56 Moscow Time from Site 133 in Plesetsk. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the on-time launch and the presence of a fourth military payload onboard the launch vehicle, which would receive the official designation Kosmos-2504. It could also have the designation 14F153. The payload section separated from the second stage of the launch vehicle at 16:53 and the spacecraft were expected to reach their orbit at 18:45 Moscow Time.
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/Cosmos-2504.html
