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Russian Rocket Launch Object 2014 28E Sparks “Space Wars”
Mysterious Russian satellite sparks ‘orbital weapon’ speculations
A mysterious Russian satellite orbiting Earth has global media in a bit of a spin after the object, thought to be space debris, conducted suspicious manoeuvres in space sparking rumors of little less than a revival of old Soviet satellite-killer program.
The unknown space object was reportedly launched into space 6 months ago, along with a cluster of three military communication satellites which received identification names Kosmos-2496, Kosmos-2497, Kosmos-2498. The fourth object was not declared to be among the rocket cargo, so was thought to be debris from the launch and dubbed “Object 2014-28E.” But after it was spotted performing some unusual maneuvers, the US military reportedly re-classified it as a satellite.
But with Russian authorities being mute regarding the matter, which might be a common practice for space missions, and anyone being able to track the object online –speculation mushroomed.
The Financial Times was the first to report on the mysterious object presumably being a “Russian satellite killer.” The UK international daily said the object is now being tracked by the US military under the NORAD designation 39765 and claimed that the secrecy around it caused “fears over the revival of a defunct Kremlin project to destroy satellites.”
As Russia’s defense ministry did not respond to journalists’ request for comment, more news outlets as well as space enthusiasts on social media, got involved with the mystery.
he object, designated 2014-28E and tracked by the North American Aerospace Defense Command as 39765, recently has performed intricate orbital maneuvers that suggest it is more than debris from the launch of the satellite. Even more so, the behavior of 2014-28E has brought into question whether it is a prototype of a new co-orbital anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon. The suggestion that it might be such is not unreasonable considering that the Soviet Union performed numerous co-orbital ASAT tests that led to the deployment of the Istrebitel Sputnikov or co-orbital “satellite-killer” during the Cold War until it was taken out of operational service after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Whether 2014-28E is indeed a resurgence of ASAT development or a benign outer space activity is difficult to tell given the dual-use nature of space technology, the national security nature of the launch and the resultant blackout of information. The vast majority of space technology, including satellites, is dual use: having civilian and military purposes. Object 2014-28E appears to be a maneuverable satellite, capable of both rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), such as inspecting a damaged satellite, or performing the role of a co-orbital ASAT.
More Info: http://www.space.com/27806-russia-mystery-object-space-weapon.html
More Info: http://www.theguardian.com/science/shortcuts/2014/nov/18/object-2014-28e-space-russian-satellite-unidentified
Thanks to RT and Dahboo7 Reporting on this object!
