Called Perimeter, the doomsday system that went live in the waning days of the Soviet era, is reportedly still alive and well. As it turns out the “top secret’ machine has not been much of a secret at all. Even in the light of non-secrecy neither the US, Russia or the mainstream media want to talk about it.

It was built 25 years ago and remained a closely guarded secret. With the demise of the USSR, word of the system did leak out, but few people seemed to notice. In fact, though Yarynich and a former Minuteman launch officer named Bruce Blair have been writing about Perimeter since 1993 in numerous books and newspaper articles, its existence has not penetrated the public mind or the corridors of power. The Russians still won’t discuss it, and Americans at the highest levels—including former top officials at the State Department and White House—say they’ve never heard of it. When I recently told former CIA director James Woolsey that the USSR had built a doomsday device, his eyes grew cold. “I hope to God the Soviets were more sensible than that.” They weren’t.

The system remains so shrouded that Yarynich worries his continued openness puts him in danger. He might have a point: One Soviet official who spoke with Americans about the system died in a mysterious fall down a staircase. But Yarynich takes the risk. He believes the world needs to know about Dead Hand. Because, after all, it is still in place. (Wired)

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Bakonur has been Russia’s main space port since the 50’s. It’s also the world’s busiest. When the US retires the Space Shuttle, Bakanor will become the center of all transport to the space station. Boston.com recently published a stunning collection of 26 photos from Baikonur.

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A newly discovered bacteria living in Russia’s lake Baikal could end the risk of environmental damage from oil spills.

During submersions to Baikal Russian scientists discovered very interesting microorganisms. They were found in samples and turned out to be promising for eliminating consequences of various ecological disasters.

Scientists claim that these microorganisms live on oil. Every year lake Baikal excretes about 4 tons of oil from bottom cracks, and said microbes eat it, thus saving the lake from being polluted, expedition members say. A lot of research work is required to determine conditions for these tiny creatures to live and to consume oil in other environments. (Russia IC)

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With all of the well known tourist destinations in Moscow, it’s easy to miss so many other places of interest. If you have any interested in paleontology, Moscow has one of the largest exhibits in the world.

For dinosaur fans, the Orlov Paleontology Institute, one of the largest Natural History Museums in the world, is a must-see. It was built in the 1970s, and its pterodactyl-pattern wrought-iron fences and mirrored murals of the pre-Cambrian era are as impressive as its huge collection of fossils and skeletons. What helps to make the museum special is its unique setting in a gem of a park in southern Moscow. This route explores this lovely wilderness, the Theotokos Church, the ornamental ponds and neoclassical mansion of the fascinating Uzkoe Estate before heading to the museum. (Moscow News)

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If you live in America, it’s virtually impossible to avoid learning a great deal about our space program from school, television, movies and more. To most of us the Russian space program, which actually began before ours, remains a mystery.

In the story of a millionaire who is about to become the sixth to pay for a visit to the International Space Station, we get a rare glimpse inside Russia’s Cosmonaut training facilities.

Zvyozdny Gorodok is the birthplace of spaceflight. Ever since the Soviets built the cosmonaut training center in 1960, this city of 8,000 has been shrouded in mystery, even left off maps. After Yuri Gagarin trained here and became the first person to travel into space, Star City became a sort of Bolshevik Oz in the minds of the Russian people, with highly evolved star men living in gleaming silver towers.

The reality, Garriott discovers as he checks in at the security booth on his first day of training in January, is a bit different. Nearby, an old woman sells chocolate and cigarettes from a tiny kiosk. Garriott makes his way past the solemn armed guards at the gate and follows a trail through the towering pines. Grim cement buildings covered in peeling paint rise from the cracked pavement. An enormous babushka trudges past, lugging a grocery sack. (Full story with photos on Wired)

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Who made the largest airplane in the world? Not Airbus or Boeing. Not even Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose is bigger. It’s from a former Soviet enterprise. The AN225 it was designed and built by Antonov in Ukraine. Originally built to transport the Buran orbiter (Russian Space Shuttle), it is an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan. Mriya means “Dream” (Inspiration) in Ukrainian.With a maximum gross weight of 640 tons (1,411,000 lb), the An-225 is the world’s heaviest and largest aircraft. The Hughes H-4 Hercules, known to most as the “Spruce Goose”, had a greater wingspan and a greater overall height, but was considerably shorter, and due to the materials used in its construction, also lighter. In addition, the Hercules only flew once and never climbed above 70 ft (21.3 m), making the An-225 the largest aircraft in the world to take off multiple times.^[2] The An-225 is also larger than the Airbus A380 airliner, and considerably bigger than the Antonov An-124, Boeing 747-400ERF, and Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, the nearest equivalent heavy airlifters.

In November 2004, FAI placed the An-225 in the Guinness Book of Records for its 240 records.

The Antonov AN-225 is commercially available for flying any over-sized payload due the unique size of its cargo deck. Currently there is only one aircraft operating but a second mothballed airframe is being reconditioned and is scheduled for completion around mid to late 2008.

Videos of the AN-225 :

Today in History

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A Russian company produces a unique personal propulsion craft for divers that is configured like a motorcycle. I’m certain that moving about from a seated postion beats being pulled by the arms as some propulsion units do.

The underwater motorcycle allows going underwater without any special equipment: the body of a motorcycle rider stays in water and the head – in a kind of helmet serving as a diving-bell and is equipped with an air supplying system. The electronic motors of the motorcycle let it move in all directions underwater.
Compared to some foreign analogues, such as, for instance, Breathing Observation Bubble/Scuba Scuta, the developers of the Russian Aqua Star used even glass for the helmet instead of spherical glass that distorts the diver’s visibility and makes the eyes get tired. The helmet of Aqua Star motorcycle also has an airflow system to prevent the glass steam up. (Russian IC)

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