Baffling footage purporting to show an object trailing the International Space Station has emerged from Russia.
The video was reported to show a spacecraft or piece of debris following the station as it orbited Earth last month.
The object is seen floating behind a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which are used to transport cosmonauts
The appearance of the object in the video has baffled viewers trying to determine what exactly it could be
While some have suggested it is a UFO, others say it is a piece of debris or some other floating matter
It was said the video was recorded by ISS cameras, through the veracity of the claim has not been established
Many have claimed the object is a UFO – but others remain skeptical about the authenticity of the film and the explanations for the object.
Some pointed out that cameras on the ISS record video of significantly better quality than that seen in the short recording.
Meanwhile, the rotation and motion of the object does not look to correspond to that of an object in orbit.
One clue could could lie in the fact a Russian Soyuz spacecraft – used to carry cosmonauts into space – is seen in the footage.
Astronauts on the film’s soundtrack make no comment about the object seemingly observing them, it was reported.
The video quickly went viral online where it was hotly debated by viewers. Some described it as a ‘companion ship’.
One viewer, identified as Kirill Polishchuk, said: ‘Debris from the ISS will have roughly the same speed. It is a thermal insulation board, most likely.’
Meanwhile, today the Cygnus cargo vessel was launched back into space packed full of garbage it had accrued during its time with the ISS.
The capsule, built by private space company Orbital ATK, was pushed out into the emptiness of space using a large robotic arm on the space station as it flew above Bolivia.
Once the spacecraft reached a safe distance from the space station, its engines were due to fire twice, sending it on course for a fiery finale in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The spaceship, which was named SS Deke Slayton II after one of Nasa’s original astronauts, will burn up in the atmosphere during re-entry.
Astronauts on the film’s soundtrack make no comment about the object following them, it was reported