"Roscosmos", a month after the launch, assigned provisional names to the military spacecraft sent into orbit on February 5, 2025. They are now known as Kosmos-2581, Kosmos-2582, and Kosmos-2583. However, their tasks 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). Already at 07:30, two satellites, Kosmos-2582 and Kosmos-2583, 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, Kosmos-2581, separated from the Volga.
On February 19, Kosmos-2581 took its target orbit with the following parameters: perigee – 581 km, apogee – 596 km, inclination – 82°. A few days later, on February 24, Kosmos-2582 performed a maneuver and took a similar orbit, approaching Kosmos-2581 to a distance of about 10 km. At the same time, Kosmos-2583 did not perform any orbital corrections, which may indicate its passive nature.
In addition, observers note different physical sizes of the satellites: Kosmos-2581 differs from the pair Kosmos-2582/2583, which indicates their different types. However, despite all these maneuvers and differences, the purpose of these military vehicles remains a mystery.
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