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CNN: Did The Russians Nuke Themselves? Update: "Likely" Related To Nuclear Cruise Missile, Says US Official
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Leroy N. Soetoro
Aug 15, 2019, 4:25:49 AM8/15/19
to
Probably used some of Hillary's uranium.
https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2019/08/13/cnn-russians-nuke/
Just what caused a mysterious explosion and the deaths of five key
researchers in Russia’s equivalent of Los Alamos? The accident last week
caused a spike in background radiation levels and prompted a scramble of
nuclear-related support to Sarov, a secret city in northern Russia known
for research and development on nuclear weapons. Western intelligence
suspects that the new Russian nuclear cruise missile is under development
in Sarov — or was, anyway.
The Russians finally broke their silence today, but didn’t actually offer
any specific denials, CNN notes:
The Kremlin broke its silence Tuesday on the apparent explosion of a
nuclear-powered cruise missile during a test, saying that accidents
“happen” but that Russia remained “far ahead” in the development of
advanced weaponry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm widespread
international speculation that the accident — which claimed the lives of
at least five nuclear specialists last Thursday — involved a nuclear-
powered cruise missile known as the Burevestnik or Skyfall.
But in a conference call with reporters, Peskov denied that such mishaps
would set back Russian efforts to develop advanced military capabilities.
The spokesperson said that only experts could speak with authority on such
matters, but added: “Accidents, unfortunately, happen. They are tragedies.
But in this particular case, it is important for us to remember those
heroes who lost their lives in this accident.”
Russia had ordered the nearby village of Nyonoksa to evacuate, but then
inexplicably canceled the order:
The Russian military on Tuesday told residents of a village near a navy
testing range to evacuate, but cancelled the order hours later, adding to
the uncertainty and confusion fueled by a missile explosion at the range
that led to a brief spike in radiation that frightened residents and
raised new questions about the military’s weapons program.
The initial notice from the military told residents of Nyonoksa, a village
of about 500, to move out temporarily, citing unspecified activities at
the range. But a few hours later, the military said the planned activities
were cancelled and rescinded the request to leave, said Ksenia Yudina, a
spokeswoman for the Severodvinsk regional administration.
The Associated Press suggests in the same report that this might have been
a routine request:
Local media in Severodvinsk said residents of Nyonoksa regularly received
similar temporary evacuation orders usually timed to tests at the range.
Even that seems significant, however. If they had a test planned and then
canceled it, it might be because their nuclear facilities can no longer
conduct tests. Or, alternately, the Putin regime figures they can
sacrifice 500 of their citizens in order to maintain the Chip Diller
routine.
That would be a long-term mistake. The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 didn’t
lead immediately to the collapse of the Soviet system, but it certainly
contributed to the erosion of its credibility and hastened its end. The
Washington Post’s editorial board offered Russia a reminder of that this
afternoon and told Vladimir Putin to ‘fess up:
Initially, Russia’s defense ministry said two people died in the
explosion, three were injured and there was no radiation release. Then
officials in Severodvinsk, a larger city some 19 miles away, posted on its
website a statement that sensors recorded a short-term spike in radiation,
without saying how much. The report was subsequently taken down. Residents
rushed to stockpile iodine against possible radiation exposure. Ambulances
carrying the injured appeared to be sealed by some kind of plastic film,
and personnel were wearing hazmat suits. On Aug. 10, the Russian state
nuclear agency, Rosatom, said five of its employees had died in the
accident, bringing the total to seven. Moreover, Rosatom said the blast
resulted from the test of a jet engine “propulsion system involving
isotopes,” or nuclear materials. On Aug. 13, residents of the small
village of Nyonoksa were told they would be evacuated temporarily.
If this slow dribble of facts sounds familiar, it is — the same parade of
misdirection happened during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. This
accident is nothing like Chernobyl in scale, but the government response
looks familiar, including a lack of transparency about radiation release.
As the recent television series “Chernobyl” vividly illustrated, that
accident, the worst in the nuclear age, was characterized by lies and
deception. At the very least, Russia should immediately clear up what
occurred at Nyonoksa.
They also raise the warning for the rest of us:
If the Nyonoksa blast was a test of the Burevestnik engine, Russia may be
further along than previously thought. Mr. Putin has taken pains to brag
that Russian can develop weapons with an asymmetric threat to the United
States. Test failures are to be expected. But at a time when nuclear arms
control is falling apart, this test raises a question: If successful, what
kind of new nuclear threat will Russia possess?
Maybe it wasn’t so successful, which might be why Putin’s not talking much
about it.
Update: According to an ABC source, the US is pretty convinced this was
related to the development of the nuclear cruise missile. Another says
that it’s likely never going to work for Putin and that more such failures
can be predicted:
The explosion in northern Russia last week that killed 7 people “likely”
involved Russia’s new nuclear-powered cruise missile, a U.S. official
said. Russian authorities have given conflicting information about the
explosion and whether it was triggered by testing of the missile, which is
intended to fly long distances and go around air defense missile systems.
…
Russia has never given details on how the the new missile works but most
arms experts believe it is a so-called ramjet—that is an engine that works
by sucking in air, heating it and then releasing it out the back to create
propulsion. The miniature nuclear-reactor heats the air.
The United States abandoned the development of a similar program in the
1960’s, leading outside experts to question whether the concept of a
nuclear powered missile is feasible.
Cheryl Rofer a veteran scientist who formerly worked at Los Alamos
Laboratory and who said she had been personally acquainted with the U.S.
ramjet program, in a blog post Sunday wrote that the Kremlin had likely
been persuaded to back an unrealistic program.
“I think that what has happened is that someone sold a program to Putin.
The visuals are cool, and the idea of a cruise missile that can just keep
cruising obviously appealed to him. The promoter of the program may even
believe in it,” Rofer said. “ I’m saying I think they’ll never have an
operating system.”
--
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.
The Obama-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
approved Uranium One in fall 2010. With a little luck, we'll see
compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail before she dies.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2019/08/13/cnn-russians-nuke/
Just what caused a mysterious explosion and the deaths of five key
researchers in Russia’s equivalent of Los Alamos? The accident last week
caused a spike in background radiation levels and prompted a scramble of
nuclear-related support to Sarov, a secret city in northern Russia known
for research and development on nuclear weapons. Western intelligence
suspects that the new Russian nuclear cruise missile is under development
in Sarov — or was, anyway.
The Russians finally broke their silence today, but didn’t actually offer
any specific denials, CNN notes:
The Kremlin broke its silence Tuesday on the apparent explosion of a
nuclear-powered cruise missile during a test, saying that accidents
“happen” but that Russia remained “far ahead” in the development of
advanced weaponry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm widespread
international speculation that the accident — which claimed the lives of
at least five nuclear specialists last Thursday — involved a nuclear-
powered cruise missile known as the Burevestnik or Skyfall.
But in a conference call with reporters, Peskov denied that such mishaps
would set back Russian efforts to develop advanced military capabilities.
The spokesperson said that only experts could speak with authority on such
matters, but added: “Accidents, unfortunately, happen. They are tragedies.
But in this particular case, it is important for us to remember those
heroes who lost their lives in this accident.”
Russia had ordered the nearby village of Nyonoksa to evacuate, but then
inexplicably canceled the order:
The Russian military on Tuesday told residents of a village near a navy
testing range to evacuate, but cancelled the order hours later, adding to
the uncertainty and confusion fueled by a missile explosion at the range
that led to a brief spike in radiation that frightened residents and
raised new questions about the military’s weapons program.
The initial notice from the military told residents of Nyonoksa, a village
of about 500, to move out temporarily, citing unspecified activities at
the range. But a few hours later, the military said the planned activities
were cancelled and rescinded the request to leave, said Ksenia Yudina, a
spokeswoman for the Severodvinsk regional administration.
The Associated Press suggests in the same report that this might have been
a routine request:
Local media in Severodvinsk said residents of Nyonoksa regularly received
similar temporary evacuation orders usually timed to tests at the range.
Even that seems significant, however. If they had a test planned and then
canceled it, it might be because their nuclear facilities can no longer
conduct tests. Or, alternately, the Putin regime figures they can
sacrifice 500 of their citizens in order to maintain the Chip Diller
routine.
That would be a long-term mistake. The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 didn’t
lead immediately to the collapse of the Soviet system, but it certainly
contributed to the erosion of its credibility and hastened its end. The
Washington Post’s editorial board offered Russia a reminder of that this
afternoon and told Vladimir Putin to ‘fess up:
Initially, Russia’s defense ministry said two people died in the
explosion, three were injured and there was no radiation release. Then
officials in Severodvinsk, a larger city some 19 miles away, posted on its
website a statement that sensors recorded a short-term spike in radiation,
without saying how much. The report was subsequently taken down. Residents
rushed to stockpile iodine against possible radiation exposure. Ambulances
carrying the injured appeared to be sealed by some kind of plastic film,
and personnel were wearing hazmat suits. On Aug. 10, the Russian state
nuclear agency, Rosatom, said five of its employees had died in the
accident, bringing the total to seven. Moreover, Rosatom said the blast
resulted from the test of a jet engine “propulsion system involving
isotopes,” or nuclear materials. On Aug. 13, residents of the small
village of Nyonoksa were told they would be evacuated temporarily.
If this slow dribble of facts sounds familiar, it is — the same parade of
misdirection happened during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. This
accident is nothing like Chernobyl in scale, but the government response
looks familiar, including a lack of transparency about radiation release.
As the recent television series “Chernobyl” vividly illustrated, that
accident, the worst in the nuclear age, was characterized by lies and
deception. At the very least, Russia should immediately clear up what
occurred at Nyonoksa.
They also raise the warning for the rest of us:
If the Nyonoksa blast was a test of the Burevestnik engine, Russia may be
further along than previously thought. Mr. Putin has taken pains to brag
that Russian can develop weapons with an asymmetric threat to the United
States. Test failures are to be expected. But at a time when nuclear arms
control is falling apart, this test raises a question: If successful, what
kind of new nuclear threat will Russia possess?
Maybe it wasn’t so successful, which might be why Putin’s not talking much
about it.
Update: According to an ABC source, the US is pretty convinced this was
related to the development of the nuclear cruise missile. Another says
that it’s likely never going to work for Putin and that more such failures
can be predicted:
The explosion in northern Russia last week that killed 7 people “likely”
involved Russia’s new nuclear-powered cruise missile, a U.S. official
said. Russian authorities have given conflicting information about the
explosion and whether it was triggered by testing of the missile, which is
intended to fly long distances and go around air defense missile systems.
…
Russia has never given details on how the the new missile works but most
arms experts believe it is a so-called ramjet—that is an engine that works
by sucking in air, heating it and then releasing it out the back to create
propulsion. The miniature nuclear-reactor heats the air.
The United States abandoned the development of a similar program in the
1960’s, leading outside experts to question whether the concept of a
nuclear powered missile is feasible.
Cheryl Rofer a veteran scientist who formerly worked at Los Alamos
Laboratory and who said she had been personally acquainted with the U.S.
ramjet program, in a blog post Sunday wrote that the Kremlin had likely
been persuaded to back an unrealistic program.
“I think that what has happened is that someone sold a program to Putin.
The visuals are cool, and the idea of a cruise missile that can just keep
cruising obviously appealed to him. The promoter of the program may even
believe in it,” Rofer said. “ I’m saying I think they’ll never have an
operating system.”
--
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.
The Obama-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
approved Uranium One in fall 2010. With a little luck, we'll see
compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail before she dies.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
Byker
Aug 15, 2019, 2:50:14 PM8/15/19
to
"Leroy N. Soetoro" wrote in message
news:XnsAAACE8B1C...@202.81.25
of a "B" movie that as a kid I used to watch on Saturday afternoons:
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7_Ri1-QHDA
Feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jPJEEAv6rw
news:XnsAAACE8B1C...@202.81.25
>
> Probably used some of Hillary's uranium.
>
> https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2019/08/13/cnn-russians-nuke/
>
> Just what caused a mysterious explosion and the deaths of five key
> researchers in Russia’s equivalent of Los Alamos? The accident last week
> caused a spike in background radiation levels and prompted a scramble of
> nuclear-related support to Sarov, a secret city in northern Russia known
> for research and development on nuclear weapons. Western intelligence
> suspects that the new Russian nuclear cruise missile is under development
> in Sarov — or was, anyway.
All this nuclear-cruise-missile-and-its-path-of-destruction talk reminds me
> Probably used some of Hillary's uranium.
>
> https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2019/08/13/cnn-russians-nuke/
>
> Just what caused a mysterious explosion and the deaths of five key
> researchers in Russia’s equivalent of Los Alamos? The accident last week
> caused a spike in background radiation levels and prompted a scramble of
> nuclear-related support to Sarov, a secret city in northern Russia known
> for research and development on nuclear weapons. Western intelligence
> suspects that the new Russian nuclear cruise missile is under development
> in Sarov — or was, anyway.
of a "B" movie that as a kid I used to watch on Saturday afternoons:
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7_Ri1-QHDA
Feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jPJEEAv6rw
PhantomView
Aug 16, 2019, 1:47:19 AM8/16/19
to
engine.
But it is STUPID.
Regular ICBMs are far superior.
Byker
Aug 16, 2019, 5:20:51 PM8/16/19
to
"PhantomView" wrote in message
news:2pgcletdu91e3si55...@4ax.com...
It's not the first time the Russkies have dabbled in airborne nuclear
propulsion, with predictably fatal consequences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLK9hYXWZw4&t=39m40s
Successful or not, if Russia is test-flying these weapons, this means it has
been repeatedly crashing nuclear reactors into the ground or the ocean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okS76WHh6FI
Beyond that, it is unclear how much progress the Burevestnik program may
have made toward anything approaching a viable weapon system, if that is
even possible:
https://nucleardiner.wordpress.com/2019/08/11/speculations-on-the-nenoksa-explosion/
The United States experimented with a similar concept during the 1950s, but
abandoned it due to the complexities surrounding developing a reactor small
enough to fit in a reasonably sized missile and the dangers inherent to the
design: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto
If constructed, the missile would have been as big or bigger than the
Navaho intercontinental cruise missile: https://tinyurl.com/y6xhc6fy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7WgfRKg-vg
news:2pgcletdu91e3si55...@4ax.com...
propulsion, with predictably fatal consequences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLK9hYXWZw4&t=39m40s
Successful or not, if Russia is test-flying these weapons, this means it has
been repeatedly crashing nuclear reactors into the ground or the ocean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okS76WHh6FI
Beyond that, it is unclear how much progress the Burevestnik program may
have made toward anything approaching a viable weapon system, if that is
even possible:
https://nucleardiner.wordpress.com/2019/08/11/speculations-on-the-nenoksa-explosion/
The United States experimented with a similar concept during the 1950s, but
abandoned it due to the complexities surrounding developing a reactor small
enough to fit in a reasonably sized missile and the dangers inherent to the
design: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto
If constructed, the missile would have been as big or bigger than the
Navaho intercontinental cruise missile: https://tinyurl.com/y6xhc6fy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7WgfRKg-vg
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