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Soyuz-2-1v launches classified payload Russian military completed its orbital launch attempts in 2023 firing the Soyuz-2-1v rocket on December 27. The vehicle carried spacecraft for the Ministry of Defense. It was the 11th mission of the light-weight Soyuz variant since its introduction in 2013.
Soyuz-2-1v rocket mission on Dec. 27, 2023, at a glance:
According to the official statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense a Soyuz-2-1v rocket lifted off on Dec. 27, 2023, at 10:03 Moscow Time, from Plesetsk carrying spacecraft for the Ministry of Defense. Reports distributed by the state-controlled media also said that the spacecraft had been successfully inserted into its planned orbit and that it had been taken under control by ground assets of the Russian Air and Space Forces, VKS. The spacecraft maintained stable communications with ground control and its systems functioned nominally, according to the military. Roskosmos listed the payload delivered during the launch as Kosmos-2574. Based on the notifications to the air and sea traffic issued by the Russian authorities ahead of the launch, it appeared that the rocket ascended along the usual ground track required to reach orbit with an inclination of 97 degrees toward the Equator. The US Space Force then tracked the payload associated with the launch in a 348 by 361-kilometer orbit with an inclination 96.8 degrees toward the Equator. In the following months, the satellite was detected performing small orbital maneuvers. In the meantime, Kosmos-2574 lowered its orbit between Jan. 25 and Jan. 27, 2024, by around two kilometers and made another small maneuver downward between Feb. 5 and Feb. 6, 2024:
Observers noted that the maneuvers of Kosmos-2574 put it into a proximity orbit just below Kosmos-2575 (launched on Feb. 9, 2024), allowing Kosmos-2574 to catch up with its apparent target on Feb. 21, 2024, and pass within around 26 kilometers from it:
Around Feb. 22, 2024, a small fragment separated from the satellite and quickly began losing altitude, indicating a low-density object. It reentered around March 5, 2024. In the meantime, as Kosmos-2575's orbit slowly decayed, Kosmos-2574 maneuvered downward for another rendezvous with it on March 11 and March 12, 2024:
In the second half of May 2024, Kosmos-2574 performed a series of orbit adjustments counteracting its orbital decay. By the end of May 2024, it was in the 303 by 313-kilometer orbit with an inclination 96.73 degrees toward the Equator. In the meantime, Kosmos-2575 naturally descended to a 322 by 327-kilometer orbit with a similar inclination, making possible another close pass of the two satellites around June 7, 2024. Another encounter between Kosmos-2574 and -2575 was observed in the second week of July 2024. As of July 8, 2024, the satellites were in the following orbits:
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