Nivelir
Nivelir is a Russian military space program launching satellites into low Earth orbit widely believed to serve as co-orbital anti-satellite weapons with secondary space surveillance missions. Nivelir spacecraft are often compared to Matryoshka dolls, as the satellites contain a smaller inspector subsatellite, which can itself deploy a kinetic kill vehicle.
Nivelir spacecraft are inserted into coplanar orbits with target satellites, launching just as the target passes over the launch site. After reaching orbit, the spacecraft shadow their target in a practice termed "space stalking." After closing the distance with the target, they perform rendezvous and proximity operations and mock kinetic attacks. To date, Nivelir launches have primarily targeted satellites owned by the United States.
Built by the Russian Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics on a Lavochkin 14F150 bus, the first Nivelir was launched on December 25, 2013, aboard a Rokot/Briz-KM carrier rocket, though subsequent launches have utilized the Soyuz 2.1b and 2.1v platforms. All launches have taken place at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia. The spacecraft's secondary electro-optical imaging mission utilizes dual hyperspectral and panchromatic cameras which can be reconfigured from an earth observation mission to image other spacecraft on orbit.
Some suspect Nivelir to be closely connected with the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered air-launched direct ascent ASAT, one of the six "super weapons" unveiled by Vladimir Putin in 2018.
Project history
Nivelir is Russian for "dumpy level" or "surveyor", a type of optical measuring instrument. The Nivelir project began September 30, 2011, when a contract for the program was awarded to the Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics by the State Scientific and Technical Center Garant, a part of the Ministry of Economic Development.The first Nivelir spacecraft was launched as an apparent Christmas surprise as Kosmos-2491 on December 25, 2013, at 00:31 UTC. The spacecraft, designated Cosmos-2491, was launched from Site 133/3 of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome as a co-passenger on a Rokot/Briz-KM 11A05 booster alongside several communications satellites. Subsequent launches have utilized only the Soyuz 2.1b and 2.1v carrier rocket platforms, all launched from Plesetsk Site 43/4.
Satellite design
Nivelir combines two different satellites: a larger "parent" platform and a smaller "inspector" subsatellite carried within it. The parent satellites are part of the 14F150 series, a satellite bus developed and manufactured by Lavochkin. 14F150 satellites are equipped with K50-10.5 thermal catalytic hydrazine monopropellant thrusters manufactured by the Fakel design bureau and Roscosmos subsidiary NIIMash. These satellites have secondary missions including Earth remote sensing and long-distance space surveillance in addition to serving as a host for the subsatellites. Publications by component manufacturers Lavochkin and Lepton reveal that the parent satellite's imaging payload is dual-use, functioning in two distinct modes. When the hyperspectral imager is observing the Earth, it operates in a "time delay integration" mode, capturing a continuous swath of terrain with higher resolution. When configured for space surveillance to observe other satellites, the camera switches to a "staring" or "frame" mode to focus on an individual target. According to the manufacture, the satellites are also equipped with a radar absorbing material called Nivelir-RP, a feature not found on civilian satellites, but key for avoiding radar detection in an ASAT.The much smaller inspector satellites are built by TsNIIKhM and equipped to approach and inspect other satellites from extremely close ranges. For on-orbit navigation and targeting, the subsatellites utilize the "KTZ" computer vision system developed by the State Ryazan Instrument Factory and laser rangefinders which are functional between 200 meters and 12 kilometers.
Rendezvous incidents
Kosmos–2542 and USA–245
According to U.S. Space Force general John W. Raymond, the Nivelir satellite Kosmos-2542 is designed like a Russian "matryoshka doll" with an outer casing that opens up to reveal an inner satellite shell which itself opens to reveal an anti-satellite weapon that can fire at and destroy orbiting satellites from a safe distance. In November 2019, Kosmos-2542 launched into a coplanar orbit trailing USA-245, a likely KH-11 series reconnaissance satellite owned by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, closing to within 30 kilometers of the American spacecraft. On December 6, Kosmos-2542 released a sub-satellite, Kosmos-2543, which made multiple passes near USA-245, then backed off and fired a projectile, tentatively identified as Kosmos-2547, at a speed astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell estimated to be 140-180 meters per second. U.S. officials said the speed was fast enough to damage or destroy any target in its sights, stating the ejection amounted to a test of an anti-satellite weapon, likely intended as a show of force. On December 9, USA–245 left its orbit in an apparent evasive maneuver to prevent a close encounter with the newly released Kosmos–2543.Kosmos–2558 and USA–326
Just six months after the launch of USA-326, Russia launched Kosmos-2558 into the same sun-synchronous orbit with a difference of just 0.04 degrees and a separation of 37 miles, demonstrating that Russia can select targets and launch a pursuit craft on relatively short notice. Kosmos-2558 continued performing semi-monthly orbit corrections to keep its altitude between 441 and 444 km, apparently to maintain an orbital plane close to that of USA-326. By the middle of March 2023, the Russian satellite closed on the U.S. spacecraft, making periodic close passes. Around March 18, 2023, Kosmos–2558 proceeded to release an object into an orbit close to USA–326, which performed an evasive maneuver. Marco Langbroek, an astronomer and lecturer on space domain awareness at the Delft University of Technology, suggested that the RPO by 2558 represented "the positioning of a counterspace capacity "Kosmos–2576 and USA–314
In remarks during a May 20, 2024 UN Security Council vote on a Russian resolution on space security, U.S. ambassador Robert A. Wood stated: "Just last week, on May 16, Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that the United States assesses is likely a counterspace weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit. Russia deployed this new counterspace weapon into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite. Russia’s May 16 launch follows prior Russian satellite launches likely of counterspace systems to low Earth orbit in 2019 and 2022." At the time, Cosmos–2576 was coplanar with USA–314.Kosmos–2588 and USA–338
On May 23, 2023, Kosmos-2588 launched into a coplanar orbit with USA-338, a satellite launched a year prior by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office and widely believed to be an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite. According to US satellite tracking firm Slingshot Aerospace, the point of closest approach between the two spacecraft was 93.9 km, with a close approach roughly every 4 days. The company stated that they suspected the craft to have a kinetic weapon on board. A later statement from U.S. Space Command did not name the satellite being shadowed but expressed concern regarding provocative Russian satellite maneuvers. According to the Russian filing with the United Nations, the satellite was launched "for the solving tasks of the Russian Ministry of Defense."Suspected links to Burevestnik
Some researchers believe the Nivelir program supports the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered co-orbital ASAT which Vladimir Putin unveiled in 2018 as one of six "super weapons." The Nivelir program's support is thought to be either as a test program for Burevestnik's RPO capabilities, or to provide operational tracking and targeting support to Burevestnik interceptors.Both the Nivelir and Burevestnik programs share a joint ground control center named "1009/5" located in the closed city of Noginsk-9, 60 km east of Moscow. Both programs are led by TsNIIKhM, and the spacecraft share the same satellite bus, thermal catalytic thrusters, and fuel tanks. TsNIIKhM has long been associated with ASAT development, having supplied the explosive warhead for the Soviet-era Istrebitel Sputnikov co-orbital ASAT. Mission control for that Soviet ASAT was also located in Noginsk-9, which is home to the 821st Main Space Intelligence Center, the headquarters of Russia's space surveillance network, which provided targeting data for the Soviet ASAT.