Russia says foreign power may have caused spy satellite loss

The Russian space agency suggested Monday that a foreign power may have been behind the space accident that disabled one of the country’s most modern military satellites earlier this month.

Russia on February 1 launched a high-tech Geo-IK-2 craft to help the military draw a three-dimensional map of the Earth and locate the precise positions of various targets.

News reports said the satellite was a vital part of Russia’s effort to match the United States and NATO’s ability to target its missiles from space.

But the craft briefly went missing after its launch only to re-emerge in a wrong orbit that left the craft unable to complete its assigned task.

The Russian military and space agency set up a joint task force to probe the accident but it has presented no official results thus far.