Russia plans to build nuclear spacecraft

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on October 28 expressed his support for the proposal to build a nuclear powered spacecraft, bringing Russia to the edge of the space race.

However, the official announcement after the Russian government meeting has yet to answer the key question and environmental activists have expressed concern.

Russian space agency leader Anatoly Perminov told a government meeting that preliminary designs of the nuclear spacecraft will be completed in 2012. Russia will then lose 9 years and 17 billion. rubles to create the ship.

Russian spacecraft (Photos: Wikipedia)

Medvedev, chairing a government meeting on new space and communications technologies, welcomed the plan and asked the Cabinet to find a source of money to implement the proposal.

" It's a serious project. We need to find money, " said the head of Russia.

Speaking at the meeting, Perminov said his plan would put Russia ahead of foreign rivals in the universe. " It allows us to move toward a new level of technology, beyond foreign development ," Perminov said. The official described the proposed spacecraft as a groundbreaking, unique project, but given very little detail.