Putin's secret space weapon: Kremlin's mysterious Cosmos 2553 satellite 'is fitted with dummy warhead' in 'forerunner to nuke that could wipe out rival spacecraft and cause chaos on Earth'

 A mysterious Russian satellite soaring at the outer limits of orbit around the Earth has triggered fears that Moscow is developing a space-based platform to launch missiles - perhaps even nuclear weapons - to destroy untold numbers of vital satellites. 

Today US officials told the New York Times that they believe the satellite is testing components for a Russian space weapon and US Space Command is monitoring it daily for signs of a threat. 

The 'Cosmos 2553' satellite was blasted through the atmosphere atop a Soyuz-2 rocket from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome in February 2022 days before Vladimir Putin ordered troops across the border into Ukraine.

It promptly positioned itself at the very edge of low-Earth orbit (LEO) some 2000 kilometres (1240 miles) up - an area saturated with radiation from the Van Allen belts that can scramble and degrade satellite components. 

Defunct or decommissioned satellites are sent far out into this region of space to die silently in a so-called 'graveyard orbit', so the orbital path of Cosmos 2553 raised suspicions among US spacewatchers.



In the days following the launch, Russia's Defence Ministry issued a statement claiming its new sputnik was a 'technological spacecraft equipped with newly developed onboard instruments and systems for testing them under the influence of radiation and heavy charged particles.'

But US officials fear Cosmos 2553 could in fact be a testing platform for a future space-based weapon amid reports the satellite could be carrying a dummy warhead. 

Fear over the prospect of a space arms race was sparked earlier this year when American media said US intelligence officials suspected Russia was aiming to deploy nuclear weapons in space.

It is unclear exactly what kind of weapons system Moscow plans to deploy, but according to early reports from US government sources, a space-based nuke would be used to attack satellites in orbit rather than strike targets on the ground.

This co-orbital anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) would be launched into orbit and circle the Earth before deploying some kind of nuclear device - either a bomb or a projectile - that would detonate in the proximity of enemy assets to destroy them in the original explosion, or fry their components with the resulting electromagnetic discharge.

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