nuclear tug “Zeus” will not become a weapon against satellites – Kommersant

The Zeus space tug with a nuclear power plant, which is being developed in Russia, is not a nuclear weapon, said Nathan Eismont, a leading researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. So he commented “RIA News” American media reports about a briefing in the United States on the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. In 2021, the state agency reported that Zeus will be able to disable enemy satellites.

“It’s not relevant. A nuclear tug is a normal reactor, not very large, of which there are many on earth and which are used to generate electrical energy, and there (in space.— “Ъ”) the same. He has nothing to do with nuclear weapons,” said Mr. Eismont.

The fact that the American authorities are concerned specifically about Zeus was previously suggested by Dmitry Stefanovich, a researcher at the Center for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, co-founder of Vatfor. He noted that “RIA News” in 2021, it reported on the possible military equipment of the tug with reference to materials from the Arsenal design bureau (part of Roscosmos). The state agency’s statement said that Zeus would not only be able to remotely probe the Earth’s surface and near-Earth airspace, but also “use electromagnetic radiation to influence radio-electronic means of control, reconnaissance, communications and navigation systems; directed energy transfer by laser radiation.”

Zeus has been in development since 2010. Deputy General Director of Roscosmos Yuri Urlichich said that the first flight into orbit is planned for 2030 for flight testing. In October 2023, President Vladimir Putin said that the implementation of the program would be provided with funding, since deep space exploration would be impossible without a nuclear tug.

On February 15, White House officials held a closed briefing at the Capitol with members of Congress about a “serious threat to national security.” According to American media reports, the discussion was about the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. After a closed briefing, US President Joe Biden ordered enter into direct dialogue with Russia regarding the development of a system that can destroy other satellites in orbit. Mr. Biden notedthat Russia is not currently posing a nuclear threat to the United States or any other country.

Read more in the Kommersant article. “The United States has brought the “Russian threat” to a cosmic level”.

Leonid Uvarchev