Blog Editor's Note: Given the ramp up of Russian military operations in Europe and Asia, Radio Sputnik replacing Voice of Russia now on the air with Cold War style propaganda, and now Cold War style space activities, I believe the Russian have reset our relations. If they start operating independently again in space, well those of us who lived through the last Cold War may live to see another one regardless what American politicians have to say on the situation.
Object 2014-28E – Space junk or Russian satellite killer?
By Sam Jones, Defense and Security Editor
It is a tale that could have come from the cold war. A mysterious object launched by the Russian military is being tracked by western space agencies, stoking fears over the revival of a defunct Kremlin project to destroy satellites.
For the past few weeks, amateur astronomers and satellite-trackers in Russia and in the west have followed the unusual manoeuvers of Object 2014-28E (now IDed as Cosmos 2499-LVH), watching it guide itself towards other Russian space objects. The pattern appeared to culminate last weekend in a rendezvous with the remains of the rocket stage that launched it.
The object had originally been classed as space debris, propelled into orbit as part of a Russian rocket launch in May to add three Rodnik communications satellites to an existing military constellation. The U.S. military is now tracking it under the NORAD catalog number 39765.
Go to the link below to read the rest of this article http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/cdd0bdb6-6c27-11e4-990f-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3JMzknud9
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| 1986 DIA illustration of the Istrebitel Sputnik (IS) (lit. "fighter satellite"). system attacking a target. (Courtesy of Wikipedia) |
Cosmos 2499, NORAD ID: 39765, Int'l Code: 2014-028E
Perigee: 1,158.5 km, Apogee: 1,510.7 km, Inclination: 82.4 °
Period: 112.2 minutes, Semi major axis: 7705 km
Launch date: May 23, 2014
And finally here are some additional details on Cosmos 2499 courtesy of the Zarya Space website at http://www.zarya.info/Diaries/Launches/Launches.php?year=2014
Cosmos 2499 2014-028E NORAD Catalog #39765
A small satellite with orbit changing capability. Possibly, but speculatively, an inspector satellite with its own Briz-KM rocket body (2014-028D/39764) as a target. Detected by US tracking sensors and originally catalogued as debris, it was not included in early announcements of the launch. Early 2014 July - started a series of manoeuvers to reduce the separation in orbit planes between itself and the Briz-KM.
2014 November 8/9 it matched planes with the rocket and manoeuvered alongside it.
2014 May 23, 20:26 7872 0.0018 1480 1509 115.86 82.45 317
2014 May 29, 21:19 7873 0.0018 1481 1508 115.86 82.45 304
2014 Jul 2, 22:32 7872 0.0017 1480 1508 115.85 82.45 228
2014 Jul 3, 19:47 7871 0.0020 1477 1508 115.82 82.45 218
2014 Jul 9, 09:02 7868 0.0024 1472 1509 115.77 82.46 200
2014 Jul 11, 17:00 7866 0.0021 1471 1504 115.71 82.45 189
2014 Jul 17, 15:46 7855 0.0022 1460 1494 115.47 82.46 166
2014 Aug 8, 16:11 7684 0.0241 1121 1491 111.72 82.46 99
2014 Aug 12, 10:19 7621 0.0323 997 1489 110.36 82.46 94
2014 Aug 20, 09:32 7588 0.0337 954 1465 109.63 82.42 78
2014 Aug 20, 14:25 7585 0.0371 925 1488 109.57 82.45 73
2014 Oct 28, 23:22 7652 0.0287 1055 1494 111.03 82.46 254
2014 Nov 9, 00:02 7681 0.0254 1108 1499 111.67 82.45 231
2014 Nov 9, 13:19 7705 0.0228 1152 1503 112.19 82.46 230
