Russia upgraded missiles to shoot meteors and earth

Russian scientists plan to upgrade nuclear missiles to shoot down meteors at risk of hitting Earth.

TASS reported that the missiles will have the power to destroy meteors with diameters up to 50m.

Post-upgrade missiles can clear meteorites up to 50m in diameter.

According to senior researcher Sabit Saitgaraye, the Department of Design of the Makeyev Missile, they plan to fire the test at 99942 Apophis, believed to be flying close to Earth in 2036.

However, the US Agency for Aeronautics and Aeronautics (NASA) has rejected the danger of 99942 Apophis.

Discovered in 2004 with a size 3.5 times larger than a football stadium, 99942 Apophis immediately attracted the attention of space scientists and the media.

Initial calculations based on Apophis' trajectory showed that its ability to impact Earth was 2.7%, but this conclusion was later dismissed.

Asteroid 99942 Apophis.

Saitgaraye said most missiles operate with liquid fuel. The fuel was heated 10 days before the missile firing, so they were not suitable to destroy the meteorite-like meteorite of Chelyabinsk discovered several hours before approaching Earth.

Transcontinental ballistic missiles can do this, but they need to be upgraded. This means spending millions of pounds and getting approval from the government.

So far, it is unclear when the project will be approved and put into operation.

This is not the first time Mr. Saitgaraye has proposed a plan to destroy meteorites. In 2013 he said that the Soviet-era Satan ballistic missile system could be reused to protect the Earth from asteroids collisions.