A month after the launch, Roscosmos assigned designations to the military spacecraft sent into orbit on February 5, 2025. They are now known as Cosmos-2581, Cosmos-2582, and Cosmos-2583. However, their missions remain unclear.
The launch of the Soyuz-2.1v carrier rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome took place on February 5 at 06:59 (Moscow time). By 07:30, two satellites, Cosmos-2582 and Cosmos-2583, had separated from the Volga upper stage, after which it raised its orbit. Later that day, with a lag of approximately 2000 km, the third spacecraft, Cosmos-2581, separated from the Volga.
On February 19, Cosmos-2581 reached its target orbit with the following parameters: perigee – 581 km, apogee – 596 km, inclination – 82°. Several days later, on February 24, Cosmos-2582 performed a maneuver and occupied a similar orbit, approaching Cosmos-2581 to a distance of about 10 km. At the same time, Cosmos-2583 did not perform any orbital corrections, which may indicate its passive nature.
In addition, observers note different physical sizes of the satellites: Cosmos-2581 differs from the pair Cosmos-2582/2583, which indicates their different types. However, despite all these maneuvers and differences, the purpose of these military spacecraft remains a mystery.
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