Rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO)
The deliberate approach of one satellite toward another, for inspection, servicing or surveillance, which creates both a collision risk and an ambiguity over the maneuver's intent.
A rendezvous and proximity operation (RPO) brings one satellite deliberately close to another object in orbit. The purpose can be legitimate, such as inspection, servicing or refueling, or it can be surveillance and intelligence. The problem is twofold, for insurance and for strategy. Physical proximity mechanically raises collision risk. And with no international notification standard, the approaching operator's true intent stays ambiguous, an ambiguity major space powers sometimes exploit deliberately. Between November 2019 and January 2020, the US military watched with concern as Russian satellites Cosmos 2542 and Cosmos 2543 repeatedly approached the American spy satellite USA 245 to within a few hundred kilometers. US Space Command called it a potentially hostile maneuver; Russia maintained it was conducting a routine technical inspection of its own satellites. For an insurer, the episode points to an emerging risk: a commercial or government satellite can be exposed to a proximity maneuver conducted by a third party with no conventional insurance framework covering the resulting liability or damage.
Between November 2019 and January 2020, Russian satellites Cosmos 2542 and Cosmos 2543 repeatedly approach the American spy satellite USA 245 to within a few hundred kilometers, an episode US Space Command describes as a potentially hostile maneuver.
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