Russia Skyfall Nuclear Blast

Overview

The Russia Skyfall Nuclear Blast occurred on August 8th, 2019, at the Nenoksa Missile Test Site. Russian officials have confirmed that the testing of an experimental rocket caused the explosion, resulting in the death of seven people and releasing radiation in Northern Russia; though officials in the U.S. continue to investigate the cause.

Background

On August 8th, 2019, an explosion at the Nenoksa Missile Test Site on the White Sea in Northern Russia caused a radiation spike in the region. The explosion killed seven people, including five scientists, according to CNN.^[1]

Developments

Cause of Explosion

The following day, the Russian government released a statement that confirmed the explosion caused a spike in radiation levels "up to 20 times their normal level in the nearby city of Severodvinsk."^[2]

Russian state nuclear company Rosatom confirmed that the explosion occurred "during a test of a missile that used isotope power sources," according to Time.^[3]

Time continues:

The institute is working on small-scale power sources that use “radioactive materials, including fissile and radioisotope materials” for the Defense Ministry and civilian uses, Vyacheslav Soloviev, scientific director of the institute, said in a video shown by local TV.

U.S. Response

Despite explanations from Russia, intelligence officials in the United States believe that a prototype of the SSC-X-9 Skyfall missile may have been involved. In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the missile in an animated video during his state-of-the-union speech (shown below).

On August 12th, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted^[4] about the explosion. He posted, "The United States is learning much from the failed missile explosion in Russia. We have similar, though more advanced, technology. The Russian 'Skyfall' explosion has people worried about the air around the facility, and far beyond. Not good!" The post received more than 70,000 likes and 17,000 retweets in 24 hours (shown below).

Online Response

On August 12th, 2019, Redditor ^[5] yuGnaitpygE posted about the explosion in the /r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit. The post received more than 4,200 points (97% upvoted) and 290 comments.

Redditor MoefsieKat answered:

"This might not be correct since the Russian gov need to provide more details. The missile/rocket was not a nuke but might have contained experimental instruments that draw power from some generator that uses radioactive material. The explosion from the rocket killed 5 people and likely destroyed the vessel that had radioactive metals inside, thereby it became an unintentional dirty bomb that spread radioactive fallout in the area.

Media Coverage

Virtually all media outlets covered the story, including The Guardian,^[6] Vice, ^[7] The New York Times,^[8] Newsweek,^[9] USA Today,^[10] Al Jazeera,^[11] NBC,^[12] Vox,^[13] BBC^[14] and more.

Search Interest

External References