An Angara rocket launches the COSMOS 2560 satellite from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Oct. 15, 2022. Another trio in the COSMOS series — COSMOS 2581, 2582 and 2583 — launched in February 2025 and has performed sophisticated rendevzous operations in orbit. (Image credit: Roscosmos)

Two Russian spacecraft just demonstrated a very particular set of orbital skills.

The satellites , known as COSMOS 2581 and COSMOS 2583, got within just 10 feet (3 meters) or so of each other on April 28, according to COMSPOC, a Pennsylvania-based space situational awareness company.

"This wasn't a coincidental pass — COSMOS 2583 performed several fine maneuvers to maintain this tight configuration," COMSPOC wrote in a May 1 X post , which featured an animation of the rendezvous.

🛰️Russian satellites multi-object proximity event in LEORadar tracking data via @LeoLabs_Space, processed through COMSPOC SSA Suite.This week we observed a complex proximity event involving Russian satellites: COSMOS 2581, 2582, 2583, and Object F (a…