Defence minister says Russia’s Luch-Olymp craft got ‘so close’ to French military satellite last year'Act of espionage': France accuses Russia of trying to spy on satellite dataThe French defence minister has accused Russia of attempting to intercept France’s satellite communications, calling it an act of espionage. Florence Parly said Russia tried to intercept transmissions and spy on a satellite providing secure communications for the French military last year. “It got so close that we might have imagined it was trying to intercept our communications,” she added. Last month, Washington accused Moscow of developing anti-satellite weapons and cited “very abnormal behaviour” of a “space object” deployed by Russia last October. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is expected to set out plans next year for a “space defence strategy”, and an advisory committee is expected to make proposals by November.

Source: The Guardian September 07, 2018 16:24 UTC