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By Polly Mosendz
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Satellite watchers and space enthusiasts have taken notice of a peculiar object in the night sky. Dubbed Object 2014-28E and launched by the Russian military, the satellite has taken an odd path, which many have taken to tracking online. Observers are not entirely sure what its purpose is, and some have speculated it could collect space junk, repair satellites or destroy satellites already in orbit.
Patricia Lewis, an expert in space security, told the Financial Times, "Whatever it is, [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."
The rocket carrying the satellite, along with three other packages, was launched in May. The official launch of the satellite was not made public, and at first some thought it may be space junk itself. Last weekend, it moved toward another space object, though the intention remains unclear.
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Robert Christy, one of the satellite's long-term observers, has speculated it is an "inspector satellite" and offered a hypothesis on how it plans to carry out its mission. He told the BBC, "The original satellite made some slight orbit adjustments, and then the other one copied them—keeping the distance the same. That suggests to me it's a test of rendezvous or chasing equipment. The satellite is probably self-controlling: if the target moves, it moves. The idea of the station-keeping is that if you're chasing my satellite, when you get near, I'll move it. So you've got to move at the same rate to catch up."
Fighter satellites date back to the 1950s and 1960s, though Russia formally eliminated the program, which launched its Istrebitel Sputnik (fighter satellite) in the early 1960s. The United States and China have also developed fighter satellite capabilities. The New Start Treaty between Russia and the United States, signed in 2010, limited "strategic offensive arms," likely prohibiting a Russian satellite from purposefully disarming an American satellite.
The satellite is also governed by the Outer Space Treaty, which "prohibits States Parties from placing in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, installing such weapons on celestial bodies, or stationing such weapons in outer space in any other manner." Though experts and trackers are speculating that 2014-28E is involved in an act outlawed by the Outer Space Treaty, there is no evidence to concretely support their claim. It may be a piece of space junk after all.
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