YEKATERINBURG, June 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia can use Soviet-era
SS-18 Satan heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles to destroy
celestial bodies posing a threat to Earth, a Russian scientist said on
Sunday, four months after a powerful meteor struck Russia’s Urals
region.
“Carrier rockets created on the basis of intercontinental ballistic missiles like Voyevoda [the Soviet name of Satan missiles], which use standard liquid fuel based on hydrazine, are well-suited for fighting suddenly discovered small [space] objects,” said Sabit Saitgarayev, a senior researcher at the State Rocket Design Center in the city of Miass in the Chelyabinsk Region.
“They [missiles] can stay in the condition of their readiness for launch for ten and more years, after some reequipping,” the scientist said.
“Carrier rockets created on the basis of intercontinental ballistic missiles like Voyevoda [the Soviet name of Satan missiles], which use standard liquid fuel based on hydrazine, are well-suited for fighting suddenly discovered small [space] objects,” said Sabit Saitgarayev, a senior researcher at the State Rocket Design Center in the city of Miass in the Chelyabinsk Region.
“They [missiles] can stay in the condition of their readiness for launch for ten and more years, after some reequipping,” the scientist said.