Elon Musk's SpaceX And ​​The Russian Space Program Are In A New Space Race, This Time It's Nuclear



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Russia to Musk, "Challenge accepted!" That is the message one gets the words of the trash-talk from Russia as reported by BGR.

"Elon Musk and SpaceX will not be the most popular rocket space race long, at least not if Russia has anything to say about it. Russia's Keldysh Research Center has been working on a rocket solution for nearly a decade now, and now it's ramping up with a new concept video showing how its spacecraft works.

"Speaking with reporters, Vladimir Koshlakov explained that Elon Musk and SpaceX pose no real threat to the group's plans. Musk, Koshlakov says, is relying on technology that will be antiquated, while Russia is looking at the future of spaceflight. "

It's a little like what you would expect from heavyweight boxers just before a big match on pay-per-view. Except, in this case, it is hard to understand what the stakes are. The first space race was about national pride. Even then, it's a bit of a story that has been brought back to the moon.

One would think we had gotten past all that with the success of the international space station. It stands in awe of what we can do when we go beyond the lines of a political reality.

But that's not what we were saying during the first space race. And it does not fly in the current one. What flies is Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster. Because where it is, we do not need roads.

In this handout photo provided by SpaceX on Feb. 8, a Tesla roadster launched from the Falcon Heavy rocket with a dummy driver named Starman heads towards Mars.

SpaceX

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paceX via Getty Images


We can easily imagine a future where reusable rockets will come in handy. But there will be plenty of business to go around. In the end, it will not matter who As for bragging rights, it is a government versus an individual. And the individual is winning.

That said, the Russians know their way around space. And we can only benefit from their contributions. They also know their way around nuclear. So it only makes sense that they have managed to fuse the two.

Note that this is not the first time Russian space officials have verbally jousted with Musk over his ambitions. Vladimir Solntsev, Russia's general director of RSC Energia, the country's top spaceflight contractor, suggests that it is unlikely that it will be able to do so.

Sontsev is not wrong about what he said. Musk does have the tendency to overpromise. We have not seen Musk's designs. There is no launch vehicle and no spacecraft. Then again, Musk has gone to Mars. Your move, Russia.

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