Kathrine Frich
A Russian military satellite has unexpectedly disintegrated far above Earth
This has prompted new questions about the dangers lurking beyond the most crowded orbital zones.
The incident has drawn attention to risks in regions of space long considered relatively safe.
The breakup was detected by commercial tracking systems and is now being analysed by experts trying to determine what caused the failure.
Sudden breakup
The satellite involved was Luch/Olymp, a Russian spacecraft known for monitoring foreign satellites in geostationary orbit.
According to reporting by space surveillance company s2A Systems, the satellite began rotating uncontrollably and fragments were detected nearby on January 30.
By that time, Luch/Olymp was no longer operational.
It had been moved in October 2025 to a so-called graveyard orbit, several hundred kilometres above geostationary orbit, a region reserved for retired satellites to reduce collision risks.
Shortly after the event, s2A Systems observed multiple additional objects in the same area, suggesting the satellite had broken apart rather than merely malfunctioned.
Possible causes
Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said the most likely explanation was an impact with space debris.
He noted that internal energy sources, such as fuel or batteries, should have been exhausted once the satellite was decommissioned.
Because of this, an internal explosion was considered less probable, although not impossible.
A technical error during shutdown could still have caused the satellite to disintegrate without any external impact.
The incident has renewed debate about how much debris exists above geostationary orbit, an area traditionally viewed as less hazardous than low Earth orbit.
Why it matters
If debris was responsible, it would suggest that even graveyard orbits carry more risk than previously believed.
Geostationary orbit is critical for communications, weather monitoring and military systems, and debris drifting nearby could threaten active satellites.
The presence of untracked fragments in higher orbits also complicates long-term space safety and monitoring efforts, especially as more countries deploy advanced spacecraft.
Sources: s2A Systems, WP.
