Five scientists in Russia were killed last week after a failed missile test involving a small nuclear reactor exploded, Time Magazine reported, citing an official at the institute where the scientists worked. Radiation readings in the area and neighboring cities were observed to spike 20 times their normal level for a half hour following the incident on Aug. 8, independent observers said.
The explosion last Thursday occurred at a military testing ground on Russia's White Sea where the institute is reportedly working on the small-scale power source that utilizes "radioactive materials, including fissile and radioisotope materials" according to Vyacheslav Soloviev, the scientific director of the institute. There was no word on how much fissile material was involved in the incident or what role it may have played in the blast. The Russian military dismissed concerns over the radiation spike, saying levels were normal.
Independent experts believe the explosion appeared to be caused by a failure in an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile NATO has identified as SSC-X-9 Skyfall.
“Our suspicion is that something went wrong during or after a Russian test of its nuclear-powered cruise missile,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a US arms control specialist with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
The Skyfall missile is designed to use an onboard source of nuclear fuel to fly for an indefinite period of time, that Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced last year as a weapon that could potentially penetrate any missile defenses employed by the United States.
However, experts question whether the technology is viable. During the Cold War, the U.S. attempted unsuccessfully to develop a similar weapons system that would use fissile material to deliver nuclear weapons.
The incident comes one week after a series of explosions at a Siberian outpost where one person was killed and 13 others were injured. The blasts last week also forced the evacuation of 16,500 people from their homes.
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