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VLADIMIR Putin played the ultimate Bond villain as he gave orders for a GoldenEye-style nuclear space plant from the top of his notoriously long table.
Comically distanced from his Kremlin cronies, the Russian despot demanded a major development in plans for his nuclear power plant in space.
Putin sits at the head of his notorious long table during a Bond-villain style meeting
Putin is desperate to stake his claim in the worldwide space race
EPA
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Mad Vlad has wheeled out comically long tables before, distancing himself from powerful Russian advisers particularly during Covid.
This week he chose to put on the show as he stepped into the role of a true Soviet Bond villain.
Putin ordered the group of military and security officials to finance his ambitious project this year – a nuclear reactor plant on the moon.
He threw orders at puppet prime minister Mikhail Mishustin to find the money needed for his plans sprawling space base with China.
Infamous James Bond movie GoldenEye sees a deadly Soviet satellite weapon fall into the hands of Russian spies.
The film’s classic villain, Alec Trevelyan, harbours a deep sense of hatred for the UK and hopes to use the satellite weapon for revenge.
Russian despot Putin is desperate to stake his claim in a global space race for fear of being overtaken by Western enemy the US.
In recent months concerning reports have surfaced about Putin’s own plans for space as competition in the cosmos heats up.
Just weeks ago Yuri Borisov, head of Russia‘s space agency Roscosmos, said Russia and China are hoping to put their reactor on the moon by 2035.
Putin doubled down on the plans when he said Russia can be “proud” of its work on a “nuclear power plant… for operation in space”.
He also boasted that Russia has “competencies in this area that other countries do not possess”.
In a separate meeting, he ordered more money to be funnelled to Rosatom – Russia’s nuclear body – and Roscosmos.
A bombshell warning from US intelligence in February suggested Vlad could be hoping to arm his existing anti-satellite weapon with nukes and launch it into space.
Russia’s Cosmos 2543 ejects projectiles into space at incredible speed – like missiles which could destroy crucial Western kit orbiting the Earth.
While the weapon was not armed with a nuke for its 2020 firing – there are fears future versions of similar tech could take the next step.
Borisov previously said: “We are seriously considering a project to deliver to the moon and mount a power reactor there jointly with our Chinese partners somewhere between 2033 and 2035,” he said, according to Tass.
A potential alliance between China and Russia over a nuclear power plant in space would be the ultimate “axis-of-evil” Bond-style coalition against the West.
Their power plant will form part of a plan to build the International Lunar Research Station – a space base set to break ground in 2026.
The lunar base, which is bigger than Disneyland, will have a radius of 3.7miles with a command centre, a power station, a communication hub, scientific facilities, and a fleet of robots.
It will even have its own satellites for remote sensing, navigation, and communication.
How does a nuclear reactor work?
It's helpful to think of a nuclear reactor as a large kettle. It heats water to produce huge amounts of low-carbon electricity.
The nuclear reactor creates energy by splitting atoms of uranium – a process called fission.
The energy released is used as heat to make steam and drive a turbine – which generates electricity.
Different materials can be used to fuel a nuclear reactor – but uranium is most commonly used. Plutonium and thorium can also be used.
A 1000 megawatts facility would have about 75 tonnes of enriched uranium.
A typical reactor requires about 27 tonnes of fresh fuel each year.
Reactors also come in many different shapes and sizes.
They are very reliable at generating electricity and capable of running for 24 hours a day for months, if not years, with no interruption.
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Chinese astronauts at a ceremony at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest Chin
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