Death in a space graveyard; bad-ass satellite meets a nasty end

A Russian spy sat has exploded in a supposedly safe 'graveyard orbit'. What does that mean for all of us?

Why we should all worry about a Soviet space smash

Picture this: a sneaky Russian spy satellite, once busted tailing Western birds in the silent heights of geostationary orbit, suddenly blows apart in what was supposed to be its peaceful cosmic retirement home.

Crucially, this space-smashup wasn’t in crowded low-Earth orbit where we expect occasional fireworks. Remember the Chinese astronauts delayed aboard the Tiangong space station for 9 days  last November after a suspected piece of space debris damaged their return craft?

No this happened way up in the “graveyard” where collisions are extremely rare.

If even the cosmic retirement home is getting hazardous, the stakes just got real for every GPS, weather sat, and broadband link we rely on.

Caught in the actA Swiss space monitoring outfit called s2A systems detected the whole drama unfolding. The satellite formerly known as Luch tumbling, shedding pieces in a slow-motion breakup. Solar arrays and antennas likely went first, followed by secondary bursts. A cosmic fireworks show nobody ordered.

Farewell Luch … bad boy of the skies

Launched in 2014, the satellite’s full name was Luch/Olymp (NORAD 40258). Now even I think that’s a bit too nerdy, so we’ll just call her Luch.

Luch was not some loveable, peaceful relay sat. Our friends in Moscow insisted it was a humble data relay bird for secure communications with the ISS and official Russian business. But for a comms-sat, Luch regularly got way too close to Western spacecraft. Over the years it caused high-level US security meetings and, in 2018, a very pissed-off France accused Russia of using it to snoop on military activity.

I know, I’m as shocked as anyone! Say it ain’t so, Vlad.

After a decade of dodgy manoeuvres Luch’s fuel tanks ran dry. So last October Russia shut Luch down and parked her in what is known as a “graveyard orbit”.

Typical satellite end-of-life stuff. That should have been the end of it.

The plot thickens

Apparently not. While some experts suggest the Russians may have messed up the shutdown, astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell leans toward an external debris strike, arguing Luch's internal systems should’ve been inert.

Either way, fresh junk now drifts among hundreds of vital satellites below.

The physics of a space smash

I find the maths of what could have happened here fascinating.

Upon launch Luch weighed in at around 3 tonnes and fully deployed would have been the size of a small bus. But flying through the graveyard at 3 kilometres per second, if Luch hit even a marble-sized piece of space junk, head on, it could have started a cascade that totalled the satellite. Just clipping a small piece of junk moving alongside it could be enough to spell disaster.

The bigger picture

This isn’t just one old spy sat’s messy exit. It’s a warning of a slow-motion chain reaction in high orbit, where debris can linger for centuries with no atmospheric drag to clear it away.

ESA warns fragmentation already outpaces natural cleanup here. Low-Earth has Starlink dodging close calls; up high, cleanup tech barely exists.

Space once felt endless. Now it’s crowded, fragile, and shared.

We need stricter end-of-life rules, actual debris removal, and fewer reckless games. If retirement homes start exploding, we all pay.

Hey I'm now also on substack.