Russia had another nuclear accident a week ago
 

Why isn't this front-page news everywhere in the world? Russia had another nuclear accident on August 8th 2019. Trying to find out more.

It was apparently a cruise missile using a small onboard nuclear reactor for power.

Radiation levels at Russian test site spiked up to 16 times above normal after explosion

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By Travis Fedschun | Fox News

Fox News

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RUSSIA

Published August 13, 2019

Last Update 4 days ago

Radiation levels at Russian test site spiked up to 16 times above normal after explosion

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By Travis Fedschun | Fox News

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A mysterious explosion in northern Russia caused radiation levels to spike up to 16 times above normal, the state weather agency said Tuesday, amid reports that evacuations have been ordered in the village not far from the blast site and medics who treated the initial victims have been ordered back to Moscow.
Last week's deadly explosion took place at a military shooting range in Nyonoksa, in the far northern Arkhangelsk region.
Russia's Defense Ministry initially said the blast killed two people and injured six, but the state-controlled nuclear agency, Rosatom, later disclosed that the explosion killed five of its workers and injured three others. Rosatom said the explosion occurred while engineers were testing "a nuclear isotope power source" for a rocket.
The group of engineers was thrown into the sea by the explosion.
Russia's state weather agency, Rosgidromet, said on Tuesday that it believed radiation levels had risen by four to 16 times after the accident, the TASS news agency reported.

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Local authorities in nearby Severodvinsk, a city of 183,000, initially reported a brief spike in radiation levels after the explosion but claimed it didn't pose any health hazards. Data cited by Greenpeace from Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, however, showed radiation levels rose 20 times above the normal level in the city, which is about 18 miles from the testing site.
RUSSIA'S SECRET NUCLEAR-POWERED CRUISE MISSILE MAY HAVE BEEN FACTOR IN MYSTERIOUS BLAST THAT KILLED AT LEAST 5
Even though authorities said the brief spike didn't pose any health hazards, regional authorities in northwestern Russia said Tuesday the military has advised residents of the village near a navy testing range to move out following the rocket explosion. The Interfax news agency reported that the regional administration based in Severodvinsk said a notice from the military recommended the evacuation due to unspecified activities at the test range.

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Buildings at a military base in the town of Nyonoska, Russia, the site of an accident during a test of a nuclear-powered engine where at least 7 people were killed on Thrusday. (AFP/Getty Images)

While officials offered no further details about the advisory for the village of Nyonoksa, Interfax reported that the evacuation was ordered as clean-up work is being carried out after the blast, according to Reuters.
Local news outlet TV29.ru reported that Nyonoksa residents would be evacuated by train to "a safe distance." The village is located about 30 miles from Severodvinsk.

Russia's state weather agency, Rosgidromet, said on Tuesday that it believed radiation levels had risen by four to 16 times in the nearby port city of Severodvinsk after the accident (Google Maps)

Meanwhile, medics who treated victims of the explosion have been ordered back to Moscow for a medical examination, the TASS news agency reported. The medics have signed non-disclosure agreements about the nature of the accident, according to the news report.
The Kremlin on Tuesday did not address any reports of the evacuation, instead telling reporters that Russia remains ot the forefront in developing new nuclear weapons.
"I can assure that all relevant agencies are working to fully ensure safety of Russian civilians," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Interfax.
RUSSIA NUCLEAR AGENCY SAYS 5 DEAD IN MISSILE TEST EXPLOSION
Neither the Defense Ministry nor Rosatom mentioned the type of rocket that exploded during the test, saying only that it had liquid propellant. But Rosatom's mention of a "nuclear isotope power source" led some Russian media to conclude it was a missile Russia calls the 9M730 Buresvestnik. The NATO alliance has designated it the SSC-X-9 Skyfall.

A still image from tehe Russian Defense Ministry shows the new nuclear-powered cruise missile known as the Burevestnik. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout)

During his 2018 state of the nation address, Russian leader Vladimir Putinunveiled the missile, along with other new weapons that he said made NATO's U.S.-led missile defense system "useless."

Video

Putin shows off 'invincible' weaponry in address

Lucas Tomlinson reports from the Pentagon.

The Russian leader claimed the nuclear-powered cruise missile had an unlimited range, flew at a high speed and was capable of maneuverability that would allow it to pierce any missile defense. While Putin boasted of the ability to strike long-range targets, two U.S. officials briefed on Moscow's military capabilities told Fox News at the time the weapon was not operational yet and still in its "nascent" stage.
"The nuclear-powered cruise missile Putin bragged about has actually crashed a few times," during recent testing in the Arctic, one official said. "Think about the environmental impact of that," the official added. Both agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
President Trump weighed in Monday on the blast, tweeting, "The United States is learning much from the failed missile explosion in Russia. We have similar, though more advanced, technology. The Russian 'Skyfall' explosion has people worried about the air around the facility, and far beyond. Not good!"

The U.S. and the Soviet Union pondered nuclear-powered missiles in the 1960s, but they abandoned those projects as too unstable and dangerous.
Thousands of people attended the funerals Monday of the five Russian nuclear engineers as they were laid to rest in Sarov, which hosts Russia's main nuclear weapons research center, where they worked. Flags flew at half-staff in the city 230 miles east of Moscow that has been a base for Russia's nuclear weapons program since the late 1940s. The coffins were displayed at Sarov's main square before being driven to a cemetery.

In this grab taken from a footage provided by the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM press service, people gather for the funerals of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by a rocket explosion in Sarov. (Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM via AP)

Rosatom director Alexei Likhachev praised the victims as "true heroes" and "pride of our country."
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"Our further work on new weapons that we will certainly complete will be the best tribute to them," Likhachev said during the funeral, according to Rosatom. "We will fulfill the Motherland's orders and fully protect its security.

^ I guess it’s “invincible” except when it’s not...

If Russia says it is 16 times normal levels, how high is it really?

3.6 Roentgen?

Putin pm'd me to delete this thread.

This was all over NPR last week.

Russia just doing russia again.

I saw this covered by multiple media sources.

Because trump has figured a way to make himself more interesting and news worthy, than a nuclear reactor strapped to a intercontinental ballistic missile.

Not great, not bad.

Good;Terrible

I keep hearing the word "reactor" used in the context of this story. The official report describes "an isotope power source in a liquid propulsion system.” That makes it sound a lot more like a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which is a fancy name for a thing which turns heat directly into electricity, kind of the opposite of a peltier cooler.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...51db722d1c.png

The attribute that makes it a game-changer (if they get it to work) is it would have unlimited range.

So do ICBMs, and both the US and Russia we already have quite a lot of those.

It sure sounds as though this is intended to be a first-strike weapon. Conventionally-powered drones and cruise missiles are not significantly lacking of performance in conventional warfare. I can't think of a lot of ways to justify the added cost and complexity of a nuclear propulsion system which don't involve starting WWIII.


Also, NATO codename for this weapon is Skyfall. So that's cool.

True "ballistic" missiles can be tracked and defended against. Systems are in place that can tell what the target is pretty soon after launch. They don't have unlimited range. They only need to go halfway 'round the whirl. Any farther, and you'd just launch it in the opposite direction. Cruise missiles follow pre-programmed flight paths--they can turn. Even if you can detect them, you don't know what the target is. Don't think of it so much as range, but rather unlimited flight time or loiter time.

Tracked, yes. Defended against? Not reliably.



All true. This makes it seem like a first-strike weapon to me. I'd thought those days were past...



I'm not sure that having nuclear missiles endlessly orbiting (name of continent) just in case it is needed is in the best interests of global political stability. Think Operation Chrome Dome of the 1960s.

It's worse than airborne alert. At some point, the crews flying the Chrome Dome missions needed rest, and the B-52s could only fly for so long before the engines needed oil. I believe the longest B-52 mission is somewhere near 48 hours, and all eight engines were picked specifically due to their low oil burn history and swapped into that airplane. Eventually the planes/crews on airborne alert were replaced by another plane/crew, in a huge operation. These nuclear powered cruise missiles don't require rest, or refueling. I believe the Russians are/were working on a similarly powered torpedo.

How could I get a negcat for the post above? I was a SAC-trained killer.

All Hail STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND.

Dunno, but recognizing that was a dick move, I have un-negged you, and shall track down the culprit.

(Seriously, folks- negcats are for ignorance / stupidity / douchebaggery. I see none of that here.)

Also, all glory to the hypno-toad.

The overall point being that both the US and Russia seemed to mutually acknowledge many years ago that keeping nuclear weapons in flight 24/7 just in case we might want to quickly annihilate one another was, shall we say... destabilizing.

This new weapons platform seems to be geared towards much the same ends.