Errymath: September 2015

Russia Building Nuclear-Armed Drone Submarine

Russian unmanned nuclear submarines.

Source: Pravda.Ru photo archive

During the 1950s, academician Andrei Sakharov offered Nikita Khrushchev to deploy tens of super powerful nuclear warheads along US maritime borders. According to Sakharov, the USSR would have been able to keep an eye on the ball without getting involved in the arms race.
However, Khrushchev did not listen. Nowadays, this idea attracts attention again.

The Washington Free Beacon has recently published an article by Bill Hertz on the subject of a hypothetical Russian unmanned nuclear submarine: “Russia Building Nuclear-Armed Drone Submarine.”

Let’s go back to the beginning of the nuclear era and see what projects of nuclear weapons existed at the time.
The Germans were working hard to build a nuclear bomb, or rather, admitted the possibility of its creation. Yet, according to German scientists, a nuclear bomb would have to be built on a vessel because of its size. How could such a ship cross the Atlantic?

In the era of the Cold War, the Soviet Union developed the project of a super powerful nuclear torpedo almost 1.5 meters in diameter. The torpedo could destroy any port city or any naval base of the USA. Yet, the torpedo would have to be carried on board a submarine, although it was easier to mount such a warhead on a missile.
As a result, both the USSR, the USA and then other countries developed underwater missile cruisers. The power of such warheads was limited to their size, whereas the size of missiles was limited to the size of submarines. What was the way out?

People tried to make a bomb, the explosive power of which would be unlimited. The first test of a hydrogen bomb was conducted by the United States on February 1, 1952 on the island of Elugela, Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The three-storey structure was named Mike, and it was completely non-transportable.
The explosion surpassed all expectations: its strength was equal to 10 million tons of TNT.

Unmanned nuclear submarines to trigger giant tsunami waves along US coasts
Shortly after the test, academician Sakharov offered Nikita Khrushchev to deploy tens of super powerful nuclear warheads with the capacity from 200 or 500 megatons along the US maritime borders. According to him, it would have been enough to push the button to explode them all near the US. The explosions would have also triggered massive tsunami waves to wash away US coastal areas into the ocean. Khrushchev refused from the offer.

Nowadays, there are reports from Western publications saying that Russian scientists are supposedly revisiting the idea. No one knows yet, whether such reports are based on factual data or plain rumors. There is no agreement that would outlaw the creation of unmanned submarines, Nor is there an agreement on the limitation of the power of nuclear weapons.

Such a submarine should be a robotic submarine capable of traveling under the water at a large depth, escape from enemy vessels and maintain combat readiness for years.
The hull of an unmanned submarine should be made of titanium. The material would ensure a diving depth of more than 1,000 meters (this depth is a guarantee of almost total invulnerability and stealth for a nuclear submarine).

The biological protection of the reactor on board an unmanned submarine can be decreased considerably. The construction will thus be lighter, whereas the warhead will be more powerful. The size of the submarine will be smaller (in comparison with manned submarines), and the walls of its hull can be thicker, thus increasing the immersion depth from 1,000 to 3,000 meters.

An unmanned submarine would thus be able to approach the coast of the United States in strategic areas and rest on the bottom of the seafloor awaiting orders. An order via deep-sea communication system will cause their simultaneous explosion and trigger giant tsunami waves along the coast.

Denmark and US joint exercises in Europe

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un inauguration new boat

The boat, named Mujigae by Kim Jong-un, was built to cruise between Okryu Bridge and Taedong Bridge.
According to North Korean media it has a total floor space of more than 11,390 square meters, is 120 meters long and 25 meters wide

Water Flowing on Present-Day Mars

For the first time, NASA has confirmed the existence of liquid water on the surface of Mars, according to new research announced Monday. The finding stems from data and analysis by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has verified that the dark, seasonal streaks that have appeared on Mars' surface come from briny water flows.
MRO found evidence of narrow channels containing water cut into cliff walls through Mars' equatorial band, though the source and chemistry of the water is yet unknown.
The streaks, or recurring slope lineae, appear during the warmer summer months on the Red Planet. They disappear when the temperature drops.
The findings advance the potentiality for life on Mars, researchers said.
While it is likely that life exists in the crust of Mars, the new findings further the possibility of life closer to the surface of the planet, Alfred McEwen, a planetary scientist with Arizona State University, said during a NASA press conference.

“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”

Scientists had previously run into difficulties analyzing the streaks, which measure less than 16 feet, or 5 meters, wide. The MRO's instruments were able to process trace measurements, and scientists successfully observed the findings thanks to a computer program that can focus in on individual pixels. MRO's data was then compared with high-resolution images of the slopes. Scientists found a match between their locations and the presence of hydrated salts.

"We're not claiming that we found ... evidence of liquid water. We found hydrated salts," said Lujendra Ojha, a graduate student at Georgia Institute of Technology and lead author of the report, published in the journal Nature Geosciences.

While NASA has rushed to announce the findings, Ojha expressed reserve.
"It's a little bit over-the-top announcement by NASA," Ojha said. "There's so many mysteries to be solved about RSL (recurring slope line)."

The presence of water on Mars in the form of ice caps has been known for years. However, proof of liquid water on the Red Planet will have major ramifications for the study of Mars. It may mean that microbial life may still survive under the Martian surface, if there ever was any in the first place.

The discovery "confirms that water is playing a role in these features," according to McEwen. "We don't know that it's coming from the subsurface. It could come from the atmosphere."
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity previously found evidence that Mars had suitable conditions for microbial life that existed at some point in the past.

During the summer, Mars can reach up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit along its equator. Ojha and his research team found that this high temperature -- far from the planet's average of -80 degrees Fahrenheit -- allowed salty water to flow down the planet's slopes. The water combines with perchlorates to form a brine solution that helps the water to remain a liquid as temperatures drop.

"We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks," Ojha said.

Russian scientists have created a robot cockroach

In laboratories of the Baltic Federal University named Kant in Russia, scientists and engineers have created a unique robot cockroach.

Work on it lasted 7 months. As the press service of the university, customer is the Russian organization, which wanted to maximize the robot was cockroachmorfnym.

That is, it must be externally and size similar to a cockroach and his behavior should be as close as possible to the natural behavior of the cockroach.

It is 10 cm in length, running at a speed of 30 cm / sec. The robot is equipped with a light-sensitive sensor, and system contact and non-contact sensors to detect obstacles and avoid them New robot interest in Russian military.

If successful robots could serve valuable roles in difficult jobs, such as military operations, law enforcement, or space exploration.

6th October 2015 end of the world?

The Truth About the Migrant Crisis

Type 001A Aircraft carrier design

Next Big Future: China's first domestic aircraft carrier the Type 001A reported to be launched Dec 26, 2015

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Airbus Defence and Space imagery shows an overview of Dalian shipyard in China.
Source: CNES 2015, Distribution Airbus DS / 2015 IHS

Key Points

An unidentified hull in an advanced state of construction at Dalian shipyard could be China's first indigenous aircraft carrier
While a conclusive identification of the hull as an aircraft carrier cannot be made until work is observed on the upper decks and potential flight deck, the slow pace of assembly and outline suggests a military hull under construction

Satellite imagery suggests that China may be building its first aircraft carrier at Dalian shipyard in northern China.

Airbus Defence and Space imagery captured on 22 September suggests that the possible carrier is under construction in the dry dock associated with the refit and repair of Liaoning (CV16), the Soviet-era Kuznetsov-class carrier acquired from Ukraine that is now in People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) service.

The new hull, first noted under construction in imagery captured on 10 March, is in an advanced state of assembly.

IHS Jane's first noted preparations for a new vessel's assembly at the dry dock in Airbus Defence and Space imagery captured on 27 February. After the launch of a large commercial cargo vessel, the empty dry dock contained multiple support blocks used to provide a base for keel assembly. On 10 March, further imagery showed the initial stages of hull construction. At the time, the support layout suggested a hull of 150 to 170 m in length with a beam of about 30 m.

The hull assembly continued through the summer. Imagery from 22 September shows a lengthened aft section and expanded bow. The hull is currently assessed to have a length of about 240 m and a beam of about 35 m. The incomplete bow suggests a length of at least 270 m for the completed hull.

Given the incomplete nature of the upper decks, definitive identification of the Dalian hull as the first so-called '001A' aircraft carrier is not possible.

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China may be building first indigenous carrier - IHS Jane's 360

Aircraft carrier (001A) under construction.