America has been divided for a while now, between those who believe that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and Trump supporters.

But relations between Russia and America have been tense since the end of WWII. The Cold War and the Space Race were recently referenced in Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy drama, The Shape of Water.

Now, in a real-world throwback to the 20th century, the Cold War and the Space Race have merged in reports of a mysterious Russian satellite exhibiting “very abnormal behavior [sic]”.

According to the Mirror:

“We don’t know for certain what it is and there is no way to verify it,” said US State Department official Yleem D.S. Poblet  speaking at the U.N.’s Conference on Disarmament this week.

Russia claims that the satellite, which is said to have been launched in October last year, is a “space apparatus inspector”, but Poblete voiced concerns that it could actually be a weapon.

So what is it about this satellite that’s freaking everybody out? After it was launched, the satellite ‘birthed’ another smaller satellite, not unlike a Russian nesting doll.

CNN with this video outlining the main worries:

The conference was held to discuss a new treaty to prevent an arms race in outer space (Sorry Donnie, you might have to hold off on that $8 billion Space Force a little longer), so the appearance of a strange satellite isn’t ideal.

The satellite is “not acting in a manner consistent with a satellite designed to conduct safe and responsible inspection operations”…

“The United States has serious concerns about the activities of the Russian government in developing anti-satellite weapons,” said Poblete.

Russia has dismissed claims that the satellite is a weapon.

Alexander Deyneko, a Russian diplomat in Geneva, told Reuters that the claims were “unfounded, slanderous accusations based on suspicions.”

In February, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov announced that the “prevention of an arms race in outer space” is a priority for Russia.

However, the following month, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed six “new major offensive weapon systems” during his State of the Union speech, including the Peresvet military mobile laser system.

With threats of nuclear war, global warming and all the other ways that we could cause our own extinction, it feels like we already have enough to worry about without a space war as well.

[source:themirror]