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From what I can gather reading Russian-language media, it was a sea platform-based static(?) fire of a hydrazine-fueled rocket with an RTG onboard (little of wh
by orbital-decay 7y ago
From what I can gather reading Russian-language media, it was a sea platform-based static(?) fire of a hydrazine-fueled rocket with an RTG onboard (little of which makes sense to me, to be honest; might be a cover-up/lie by MoD, or it might be some experimental payload or vehicle). The fire supposedly happened after the test, when the crew approached it. Some people were thrown to the sea by the blast and proclaimed dead after an unsuccessful search and rescue operation. The "radiation spike" reported in the article was a minor increase in radon concentration, the link with the accident being unclear.
In any case it's probably not the infamous SSC-X-9/Burevestnik missile or we'd have seen at least some indication from independent monitoring sources already. (which are aplenty in the area, for obvious reasons). I'm waiting for radioisotope analysis confirming it was the nuclear thermal engine but there's still nothing, after 4 days.