The US Department of Defense launched the GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6 inspection satellites on the Atlas V rocket
The US Department of Defense launched a pair of Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) spacecraft capable of maneuvering in space and tracking the status of other satellites into geosynchronous near-Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome in Florida on an Atlas V rocket, writes The Drive.
An example of spacecraft with similar capabilities in the American edition was called Russian satellite inspectors, repeatedly criticized Washington. "The few public descriptions of GSSAP satellites and their capabilities suggest that they are similar to the highly maneuverable inspection satellites that have been following American satellites for many years," the publication says.
The publication admits that the launched GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6 spacecraft are intended, in particular, for reconnaissance, since, among other things, they are capable of taking large-scale images of other satellites.
In December 2021, TASS, referring to data from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, reported that the Russian spacecraft Kosmos-2519, from which the inspector satellite disconnected in 2017, burned up in the atmosphere.
In September of the same year, the head of the US Space Command, General John Raymond, announced that a Russian matryoshka satellite capable of destroying American spacecraft was in near-Earth orbit.
In January 2020, The Drive reported that the Russian military inspector satellite Kosmos-2542 approached the American spy satellite USA-245. The first spacecraft synchronized its orbit with the second and was located at a distance of about 150-300 kilometers from it.