A Russian military satellite, Kosmos 2612, carried out a deliberate series of maneuvers between Oct. 15 and Oct. 19 that brought it into "extreme proximity" with ICEYE-X36, a commercial radar imaging satellite owned by ICEYE's U.S. subsidiary. Orbital intelligence company LeoLabs called it the first known example of an unsanctioned rendezvous in low-Earth orbit, Ars Technica reported .

"Kosmos 2612 closed from hundreds of kilometers away to extreme proximity to ICEYE-X36. It then maneuvered around ICEYE-X36, remained nearby for an extended period, and then began moving away," LeoLabs said. The Russian craft was one of six satellites, designated Kosmos 2609 through 2614, that launched on a Soyuz rocket in April.

ICEYE, headquartered in Finland, builds synthetic aperture radar satellites that can image the Earth's surface through clouds or at night. In August 2022 it transferred one satellite to the Ukrainian government and gave Ukraine access to its wider constellation.…