Russia proposes nuclear spaceship
Russia should build a new spaceship with a nuclear engine, the country's space chief has proposed, promising that it would give Russia an edge in the space race. Skip related content President Dmitry Medvedev hailed the plan and ordered the Cabinet to find the money for it, but environmentalists expressed concern.
Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov told a government meeting that the preliminary design could be ready by 2012, but it would then take nine more years and 17 billion rubles (£353 million) to build the ship.
"The implementation of this project will allow us to reach a new technological level surpassing foreign developments," Perminov told a meeting on communications and space technologies. "It's a very serious project," added Medvedev, who chaired the meeting. "We need to find the money."
