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Class: Burial. Destination: Solar Orbit. Nation: Russia. Manufacturer: Korolev. The entire inventory of high-level nuclear waste (100 metric tons) would be permanently disposed of in a solar orbit at 1.2 AU between Earth and Mars using 10 to 15 launches of the Energia launch vehicle. The waste would be encapsulated; in case of a launch vehicle failure it would be recovered from the equatorial ocean of the earth and sent back into space.
The waste disposal vehicle consisted of two rocket stages. The first, conventional stage, puts the 50 metric ton payload into an 800 km parking orbit around the earth. The second 150-200 kWt nuclear electric stage uses an ion engine to transfer the waste to its permanent solar orbit. The net payload of waste per launch would be 9 metric tons. Typical orbit: 1.2 AU Solar orbit. Mass: 50,000 kg (110,000 lb). Associated Launch Vehicle: Energia.
Bibliography and Further Reading - Semenov, Yuri P Editor, Raketno-kosmicheskaya korporatsiya 'Energia' imeni S P Koroleva, Moscow, Russia, 1996. Russian in-house history of the Energia Corporation and its predecessors. Unprecedented detail, photographs, designations, and drawings, on the products of Korolev's OKB.
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