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First mission of Russia’s nuclear-powered space tug to take 50 months

The first flight has been scheduled for 2030

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. The first mission of Russia’s nuclear-powered transport and energy module, Zeus, will last 50 months, Roscosmos Executive Director for Long-Term Programs and Science Alexander Bloshenko told reporters on Saturday.

"The combined duration of the mission is 50 months," he said during the New Knowledge forum.

He went on to say that the first flight has been scheduled for 2030.

"Together with the Russian Academy of Sciences, were are now making calculations about this flight’s ballistics and payload," he said.

According to Bloshenko, the space tug will first approach the Moon, where a spacecraft will separate from it. After that, it will head to Venus to perform a gravity assist maneuver and deliver another spacecraft. Then, it will depart towards Jupiter and one of its satellites.

Last December, Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos and design bureau Arsenal signed a contract for developing a preliminary project of a nuclear-powered space tug Nuklon, to be used in deep space missions. The contract signed on December 10 is estimated at more than 4.17 billion rubles. The delivery date is July 28, 2024.

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