The Russian inspector satellite "Luch/Olimp" broke apart in an old orbital segment. This was reported by the Swiss company s2A systems, which monitors the space environment.
According to its staff, the satellite's breakup with subsequent tumbling was recorded on January 30. The incident increases the risk of space debris formation.
Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell believes that the incident may have been caused by a collision between one satellite and the remnants of another.
The first-generation Luch/Olimp satellite was launched in September 2014 and was used to monitor foreign satellites. After completing its mission in October 2025, it was moved to a graveyard orbit several hundred kilometers above Earth's geostationary orbit.
Although the first Luch/Olimp satellite has ceased to exist, Russia still has another spacecraft of this class, which was launched in 2023.
Read more on the topic: