[AR] Re: Earth shattering kaboom.
- From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 18:39:08 -0400 (EDT)
On Mon, 12 Aug 2019, Henry Vanderbilt wrote:
...Despite all the nuke-ramjet hysteria, amplified by pig-ignorant
reporting, I still think the simplest explanation is the Russians
somehow thought it was a good idea to use some sort of RTG(s?) for
auxiliary power (or heat?) (or measurement instrument rad source?) in an
otherwise conventional-propulsion storeable-biprop missile, then had a
really bad day with the storeable biprop part.
One possible reason for having small RTGs in such a system is the
safety/security angle. Some US PALs (Permission Action Links, the
electronic combination locks that prevent unauthorized use of nuclear
weapons) reportedly use tiny RTGs so that the circuitry's power source can
be buried within the protected volume, out of reach of tampering -- this
being one reason why there are occasional cryptic references to Pu-238
having important non-spacecraft uses.
If the Russians were planning something similar to provide positive
political control of the delivery system of a new/updated strategic
weapon, that could explain the presence of small amounts of radioactives
in an otherwise non-nuclear rocket.
(And there is some reason for wanting positive control of the delivery
system: launching a bunch of ballistic missiles is a deeply provocative
act, which might have disastrous consequences even if all of the warheads
are duds. So controlling arming of the warheads arguably is not enough.)
(the other) Henry
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