(AP) --- Object 2014-28E, a Russian
satellite, has been scooting across the skies in an odd fashion – and stirring
speculation that Russia
has reignited its space-weapons program.
Is it just a piece
of space junk, or an orbital predator?
That is the
question many amateur astronomers and, no doubt, military professionals are
asking themselves as they track an odd space vehicle, known as Object 2014-28E,
as it appears to maneuver among other satellites. Some suggest it could be the
reincarnation of the top-secret Soviet-era "Istrebitel Sputnikov"
satellite killer program, which was shelved when the USSR collapsed more than two
decades ago.
The object,
launched last May in a cluster with several other Russian satellites, was
originally classified as space debris. But then it started moving around in
ways uncharacteristic for inert trash, and it rang alarm bells last weekend
when it appeared to rendezvous with a piece of the rocket that originally
launched it.
There is no
official comment from Moscow .
Although the Russian media has lately been full of stories about a new
generation of Russian satellites and ambitious plans to revive the once-mighty
Soviet space program, there has been no mention of an undeclared, highly
maneuverable satellite as part of Russia 's currently operating space
inventory.
Experts quoted by
the Financial Times warn against rushing to judgment. Assuming the observations
are accurate, the object could have several possible missions, including
satellite repair and removing dangerous space junk from orbital corridors. But
given the Russian secrecy surrounding its launch and orbital activities, they
say, it could just as easily be a military project.
Most Russian space
experts refuse to even discuss the claim that Object 2014-28E might be part of
a renewed Russian "satellite killer" program. Some claim the reports
are just part of a wave of "cold war hysteria" sweeping the West,
including headlines about alleged Russian submarines lurking in Swedish waters,
or alarmist reports about what the Russians describe as the renewal of routine
Soviet-era military patrols in international airspace.
"I keep
reading these stories about Russian troops invading Ukraine , invisible submarines, and
now secret satellites. You should talk to a psychotherapist about this, not to
me," says Andrei Klimov, deputy chair of the international affairs
committee of the Federation Council, Russia 's upper house of parliament.
Alexander Golts, a
military expert with the online Yezhednevny Zhurnal, says that little is known
about the Soviet Istrebitel Sputnikov project. Even today there are only rumors
about a manned vehicle that had been developed to cruise the spaceways and
destroy enemy satellites in the event of World War III.
He says he does not
completely discount the speculations about Object 2014-28E, but adds that there
are strong reasons to remain skeptical.
"For one
thing, all Russian arms control policies are founded on strong objections to
the militarization of space. We know we could not win, technologically, in a
space arms race with the US .
Hence our main goal is to prevent it through political and diplomatic means.
Getting caught launching an actual satellite killer would upend decades of
patient Russian diplomacy about this," he says.
Second, he adds, Russia 's
military space program is still far behind its targets.
"We have only
two of the needed 10 early warning satellites in operation today. The very last
thing we should want to do just now is trigger a space arms race."
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