(nuclear powered) Rocket mystery: What weapon was Russia testing in Arctic?

Rocket mystery: What weapon was Russia testing in Arctic?

Nuclear powered aircraft?

Quote:

Five Russian nuclear engineers who died in a rocket engine explosion have been buried in Sarov, a closed town 373km (232 miles) east of Moscow, where nuclear warheads are made. The Russian state nuclear agency, Rosatom, said the experts had been testing a nuclear-powered engine. But it gave no further technical details. The test was on an offshore platform in the Arctic, at a naval test range. Russia has previously tested a nuclear-powered cruise missile, "Burevestnik". But officials did not specify the system involved in Thursday's disastrous test. The explosion was followed by a 40-minute radiation spike in Severodvinsk, a city 40km (25 miles) east of the Nyonoksa test range, by the White Sea.

Was this like a modern-day Russian version of Project Pluto?

Quote:

After delivering all its warheads, the missile could then spend weeks flying over populated areas at low altitudes, causing tremendous ground damage with its shock wave and fallout. When it finally lost enough power to fly, and crash-landed, the engine would have a good chance of spewing deadly radiation for months to come.

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/2KJxr7k