In the second half of April 2000, Russia ratified an agreement on an absolute ban on all kinds of nuclear weapons tests . In the modern world, the Cold War is no longer of great importance, and therefore there is no particular need for strategic weapons. Nevertheless, they were not completely abandoned, and Russia has the most powerful R-36M earth-to-air missile in the world, which in the West was given the terrible name Satan.
Ballistic missile description
The most powerful R-36M rocket in the world was adopted in 1975. In 1983, a modernized version of the R-36M2 missile, which was called the Voevoda, was launched into development. The new R-36M2 model is considered the most powerful in the world. Its weight reaches two hundred tons, and this is comparable only to the Statue of Liberty. A missile has incredible destructive power: the launch of one missile division will have the same consequences as thirteen thousand atomic bombs, similar to those dropped on Hiroshima. In addition, the most powerful nuclear missile will be ready to launch in just a few seconds, even after many years of conservation of the complex.
Characteristics R-36M2
The R-36M2 missile has only ten warheads with a homing function, each with a power of 750 ct. To make it clearer how powerful the destructive power of this weapon is, you can compare it with a bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Its power was only 13-18 ct. The most powerful missile in Russia has a range of 11 thousand kilometers. The R-36M2 is a mine-based missile, and it is now in service with Russia.
The most powerful ballistic missile
The intercontinental missile "Satan" has a weight of 211 tons. It starts with a mortar start and has a two-stage ignition. Solid fuel in the first stage and liquid fuel in the second. Given this peculiarity of the rocket, the designers made some changes, as a result of which the mass of the launch rocket remained the same, the vibrational stresses arising at the launch were reduced, and the energy capabilities increased. The Satan ballistic missile has the following dimensions: length - 34.6 meters, diameter - 3 meters. This is a very powerful weapon, the combat load of the rocket is from 8.8 to 10 tons, the launch capability has a range of up to 16 thousand kilometers.
This is the most ideal missile defense system in which there are independent individual warheads of individual guidance and a system of false targets. "Satan" R-36M as the most powerful missile in the world, belonging to the class of "ground-to-air", is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The creator of a powerful weapon is M. Yangel. The main goal of the design bureau under his leadership was the development of a multi-faceted rocket, which would be able to perform many functions and have great destructive power. Judging by the characteristics of the rocket, they coped with their task.
Why Satan
The missile system, created by Soviet designers and is in service with Russia, was called "Satan" by the Americans. In 1973, at the time of the first test, this missile became the most powerful ballistic system, incomparable with any nuclear weapons of that time. After the creation of Satan, the Soviet Union could no longer worry about weapons. The first version of the missile was marked SS-18, only in the 80s a modified version of the R-36M2 Voevoda was developed. Even modern America’s missile defense systems cannot do anything against these weapons. In 1991, even before the collapse of the USSR, a design for the fifth-generation Ikar R-36M3 missile system was developed at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, but it was not created.
Fifth generation heavy missiles are now being created in Russia. The most innovative scientific and technological achievements will be invested in these weapons. But it is necessary to be in time before the end of 2014, since at that time the inevitable cancellation of the still reliable, but already obsolete “Voivode” will begin. According to the tactical and technical task agreed by the Ministry of Defense and the manufacturer of the future ballistic intercontinental missile, the new complex will be put into service in 2018. The creation of the rocket will be engaged in the Makeev rocket center in the Chelyabinsk region. Experts argue that the new missile system will be able to reliably overcome any missile defense, including the space strike echelon.
Falcon Heavy Booster
Elon Musk, chief designer and chief executive officer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), presented the final specifications on April 6 and announced the launch date for the world's most powerful Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. This carrier will be the most powerful space rocket in the whole world, yielding only the Saturn V lunar rocket in carrying capacity. The new launch vehicle represents completely new opportunities for both the government and commercial launches. The first launch of Falcon Heavy is scheduled for 2014 and will be carried out from the launch site at Cape Canaveral.
The main objective of the Falcon Heavy two-stage launch vehicle is to launch satellites and interplanetary vehicles weighing over 53 tons into orbit. That is, in fact, this carrier can lift a fully loaded Boeing airliner with crew, baggage, passengers and full fuel tanks into orbit of the earth. The first stage of the rocket includes three blocks, each of which has nine engines. The US Congress is also discussing the likelihood of creating an even more powerful rocket that can launch 70-130 tons of payload into orbit. SpaceX representatives agreed on the need to develop and create such a rocket to be able to carry out a large number of manned missions to Mars.
Conclusion
Speaking generally about modern nuclear weapons, they can rightly be called the peak of strategic weapons. Modified nuclear systems, in particular the world's most powerful missile, are capable of hitting targets at great distances, and missile defense can not seriously affect the course of events. If the United States or Russia decides to use its nuclear arsenal for its intended purpose, this will lead to the absolute destruction of these countries or, possibly, even the entire civilized world.