Russia
Red Star
Space Propulsion Systems / Research and Power Reactors
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
Established in 1972, Red Star is Russia’s leading enterprise in the development and production of space propulsion systems. It has experience designing, operating, and supporting the life cycle of 32 systems of this type. One of these systems, the Topol (Topaz-1), was jointly developed with the A.I. Leypunsky Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE), and sent into orbit in 1987 in the Kosmos-1818 satellite. 1 Today, Red Star also develops and produces technologies to support research and power reactors. 2 Its facilities are home to two subcritical assemblies, both of which have been shut down. 3
Glossary
- Research reactor
- Research reactor: Small fission reactors designed to produce neutrons for a variety of purposes, including scientific research, training, and medical isotope production. Unlike commercial power reactors, they are not designed to generate power.
- Nuclear power plant
- Nuclear power plant: A facility that generates electricity using a nuclear reactor as its heat source to provide steam to a turbine generator.
- Critical
- Critical: A state where the number of neutrons in each period of time, or generation, remains constant. When a nuclear reactor is “steady-state,” or operating at normal power levels for extended periods of time, it is in this state.
Sources
- "История ОАО Красная Звезда" History of OAO Krasnaya Zvezda, (ОАО) Красная звезда (OJSC) Krasnaya Zvezda, www.redstaratom.ru.
- "Достижение цели: государственному предприятию Красная звезда—25 лет" Achievement of the Goal: State Enterprise Red Star is 25 Years Old, Atompressa, December 1997, p. 2.
- Pavel Podvig, Consolidating Fissile Materials in Russia’s Nuclear Complex, International Panel on Fissile Materials Report, May 2009.