Re: Russians on Phobos?
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-487586.html
Its worth mentioning that some reactors designed for space use are based on liquid metal (specifically a Pb/Bi alloy) and the Russians used the NaK variant of this technology on several satellites (Kosmos 954, 1818 and others)
A hypothetical >200MW variant of this technology with plutonium in the core might have been feasible with the weight allowance and the earlier two launches test runs with a dummy satellite of the same weight to fine tune the critical payload escape system for N1 launch *4.
On orbit docking with a crew capsule then relaying previously recorded biometric data and voice comms from a dummy satellite might have accounted for some inconsistencies reported by amateur radio enthusiasts, it is actually trivial to add a fake delay and echoes etc.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
