Rendezvous and proximity operations — one satellite sidling up to another — are on the rise and could signal either aggression or benign curiosity, according to a new report on security threats in space.
Distinguishing between these intentions is key to keeping space safe, according to Space Threat Assessment 2025, published in April by the bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In its conclusion, the annual report echoed findings from previous years about growing space capabilities among United States adversaries and urged a U.S. response, including the orbiting of “bodyguard” satellites as protection for high-value spacecraft. “Russia and particularly China are demonstrating sophisticated counterspace capabilities in orbit,” the report said, “as well as deploying cyber and electronic warfare capabilities targeting space systems.”
In its section on rendezvous and proximity operations, the report said, “Most spacecraft have generally tended to stay away from other space vehicles to avoid potential collisions. However, government-owned and commercial satellites are becoming more maneuverable and flying closer together, conducting rendezvous and proximity operations, or RPOs, and docking with other spacecraft on an increasingly regular basis.”
The report details 14 cases of Chinese and Russian satellites exhibiting unusual behavior in just over a year, from January 2024 to March 2025. These include unusual acceleration, changing directions and close approaches to other satellites.
But the report urges caution in branding any satellite a security threat, noting that such operations can contribute to independent determination of a satellite’s true purpose by helping “prevent misunderstandings, ensuring that decisionmakers can better discriminate between satellites that are weapons (i.e., threats) and ones that are not.”