The space nuclear tug "Zeus" with a megawatt-class power plant can be used in the Russian air defense system (air defense), RIA Novosti reports, citing materials from the Keldysh Research Center.
According to the data provided, the tug can be used to track enemy aircraft, in particular, to determine their location.
Such capabilities will allow "Zeus" to cover zones with a radius of 2200 kilometers (if the power of the radar equipment is 50 kilowatts) or 4300 kilometers (200 kilowatts). "In the second case, the entire airspace of Russia and part of the space of neighboring states will enter the zone of its operation," the agency notes.
In October 2020, Andrei Ionin, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after Tsiolkovsky , said that Russia could catch up with the United States on the lunar program if it created a nuclear tug.
In September of the same year, the executive director of Roscosmos for advanced programs and science, Alexander Bloshenko , said that Roscosmos planned to sign a contract by the end of this year, involving the development of the nuclear space tow "Nucleon", which in 2030 will be launched to one of the satellites of Jupiter.
Ivan Potapov
