MIRA’s Troika-330 promises the highest specific impulse among avaliable solid fuels, while simultaneously achieving a greater density due to the highly compact molecular structure of the compound. MIRA’s goal, according to CMO Lou Mikhaelov, is to “provide greater fuel efficiency for our customers… [by] allowing them to decrease the size of fuel tanks.” Mikhaelov refused to give any further comments when asked how much Troika-330 would cost in comparison to competing fuels.
The Mikhaelov Institute for Research in Aerospace (MIRA) is a relatively new player in the aerospace field, though the company has already made several impressive research contributions. Avid readers of Aerospace Today! may remember MIRA’s breakthrough with the proprietary cost-efficient solid fuel “Troika-330,” which the company used to launch several satellites earlier this year.
The troubled history of MIRA’s Skeld Mission is far from secret, despite the company’s many attempts to bury the project. MIRA’s new COO, Miroslava Zelenskaya, brings a fresh perspective by reviving the Skeld Mission. Zelenskaya was named the project’s new director last week, a position that was left empty after the previous director, Lou Mikhaelov, was found dead in his home a month after the Skeld 3 disaster.
Zelenskaya has already begun hiring a crew to man the Skeld 4, though she states that “we’re still in the R&D stage, and probably will be for at least a year.” Zelenskaya hopes that she, along with her crew, will be able to reverse public opinion on the Skeld Mission: “I think it’s a real shame what [this project] has done to the company. MIRA does a lot of fantastic research that’s constantly overshadowed by the Skeld Mission. Sure, there have been some hiccups, but that’s what research is: trial and error.”
When asked why she chose to revamp the Skeld Mission instead of spearheading a new project, Zelenskaya stated that “when you think MIRA, you think Skeld. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing! And, in a few years, it won’t be.” Zelenskaya expects that the project will be scrutinized closely, and encourages readers to follow the Skeld 4 Twitter and Instagram for updates.
MIRA’s Skeld 4 Mission has been a hot topic over the past year, and this morning the company announced the end of the recruitment period. After more than 500 confirmed interviews were conducted, 18 applicants were officially added to the crew manifest. As the project’s director, Miroslava Zelenskaya, said via press release this morning: “MIRA is confident that the individuals selected for the Skeld 4 crew are the best fit for the mission.”
But who does Zelenskaya think is qualified to crew this mission? An elementary school teacher turned influencer and a high school dropout car mechanic, apparently.