The director of Roscosmos presented two images of the futuristic spacecraft featuring the nuclear-powered tugboat Zeus, one with a rotary plasma engine and the other with an ion engine.
During the New Knowledge forum on May 22, the Russian space agency Roscosmos unveiled the design of future satellites and space stations equipped with nuclear-powered tugs.
Roscosmos Executive Director of Science and Development Programs Alexander Bloshenko presented two images of the futuristic spacecraft featuring the nuclear-powered tugboat Zeus, one with a rotary plasma engine and the other with an ion engine .
As an introduction, a satellite equipped with a nuclear reactor with a capacity of 500 kW will weigh up to 22 tonnes. The satellite is expected to be launched on the Angara-A5V heavy rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Bloshenko noted that the spacecraft’s first nuclear-powered tug mission, scheduled for 2030, will include a trip to the Moon, then Venus, and then to the stars. The total duration of this mission is planned at 50 months.
