Russia Finalizes Plans To Raise Bow Of Sunken Submarine

NUKEWARS

The Kursk during wargames in 1995

Moscow (AFP) Mar 11, 2002
Russian specialists have finalized plans to raise parts of the heavily-damaged bow of the Kursk nuclear submarine from the bottom of the Barents Sea in a bid to determine what sank the vessel, the head of a company involved in the operation said.

The bow's lifting by mid-summer should help establish what happened inside the submarine at the moment of the disaster, the Interfax news agency quoted Igor Spasky, the head of the Rubin company, as saying.

The Kursk's front was sliced off before the main portion of the submarine was hoisted off the seabed in October and brought ashore in order to give the 118 seamen who perished in the August 2000 disaster a land burial.

The nuclear-powered submarine sank following a series of explosions in its bow.

While the main portion of the sub was raised by Dutch company Mammoet, only Russian companies will be involved in lifting the bow in July or August, officials said.

Officials said in January that only fragments of the Kursk's front could be safely lifted, because there were fears that several heavily-damaged torpedoes stored in the bow's arsenal might accidentally explode.

The rest of the wreck will then be sealed off so that it does not damage surrounding fishing waters.

The head of the Russian navy Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov said last month that preliminary findings showed the fuel used for the torpedoes on the Kursk was too volatile and had caused the explosion that sank the sub.

The fuel somehow caught fire, setting off the deadly series of blasts that sent the submarine to the seabed on August 12, 2000, Kuroyedov said.

NUKEWARS

New US Proposals Could Quash Nuclear Taboos

Washington (AFP) Mar 11, 2002
A Pentagon report that pinpoints certain countries for possible nuclear targetting seems to mark an evolution in the US doctrine that discouraged nuclear use.

SUPERPOWERS US Warned Not To Ignore Chinese Military Advances	NUKEWARS New US Proposals Could Quash Nuclear Taboos Russia Finalizes Plans To Raise Bow Of Sunken Submarine "Dirty" Bomb A Credible Threat, But No Heavy Casualties North Korea Accuses US Of Jeopardizing Nuclear Accord
MISSILE NEWS Experts Fret Over China's Role In Weapons Proliferation North Korea Expanding Missile Sales: US General Iran Puts Off FM's Trip To Russia In Spat Over Meetings Scud "Axis" An Alliance With Missiles But No Direction	MISSILE DEFENSE Missiles In "Position" As India Mulls Further Action Against Pakistan Abm Pullout: The Phonecall That Soured Putin's Year. Or Did It? US Official Defends Plans for Missile Defense Despite Test Failure
AEROSPACE Boeing Signs Technology Development Agreement With JAI For Work On Sonic Cruiser Boeing Sonic Cruiser Completes First Wind Tunnel Tests	UAV NEWS Northrop Grumman To Begin Initial Production Of Global Hawks Aurora Flight Sciences To Help Tool Up For Global Hawk Production Northrop Grumman Awarded $41.5 Million Global Hawk Contract Boeing's Condit Downplays Prospects For Share In JSF Bounty
IRAQ WARS	MILTECH

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement