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11/22/2024 05:36:55 pm

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Hush Hush Russian Spacecraft Could be a Satellite Killer

International Space Station

(Photo : www.ibtimes.co.uk) International Space Station

A peculiar spacecraft called Object 2014-28E launched by the Russian military and tracked over Guatemala Monday night could be an anti-satellite weapon.

Object 2014-28E has been making unusual movements as it orbits the Earth so it's now being monitored by NORAD, the U.S. military's space defense command, The Financial Times reported.

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The object has been moving towards other Russian space objects and observers speculate the craft is conducting a test run for anti-satellite warfare.

Space expert Robert Christy said "there's always confusion with these sort of things, because no one knows exactly what these satellites are up to. If the satellite has the capacity to clear debris or perform some search missions, it can also be used for other purposes."

The craft was launched one of the payloads of a Russian rocket in May 2014. That same rocket also orbited three Rodnik military communications satellites. Originally, the object was classified as pace debris by NORAD.

The launch of the satellite wasn't made public. Reports said there are theories that the spacecraft could be a project for clearing space debris or a method of fixing broken orbiters.

Space security expert Patricia Lewis, research director of think-tank Chatham House, told media "the satellite looks experimental. It could have a number of functions, some civilian and some military. One possibility is for some kind of grabber bar. Another would be kinetic pellets which shoot out at another satellite. Or possibly there could be a satellite-to-satellite cyber-attack or jamming."

"'It would be odd if space were to remain the one area that [militaries] don't get their hands on," Lewis added.

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