Kevatuul (Satellite)

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Kevatuul
A model of the Kevatuul Satellite
TypeSatellite
Place of originNoroist Axdel
Service history
In service1974-75
Used byAxdel Armed Forces
WarsAuroran Imperial War
Production history
Designed1973
Produced1974
Number built1
Specifications
Weight6.5 tonnes
Length5.27 m
Width9.84 m
Height2.12 m

Main
armament
10x independent re-entry vehicles armed with N-1 nuclear warhead
Engine2x Alaux̂e HdZ-118 gimballed thrusters
23600 Newtons for 300 seconds
Fuel capacity4 tonnes
The Kevatuul Satellite was a space based nuclear weapons delivery system deployed by Axdel from July 1974 to early 1975 during the Auroran Imperial War. It was built in secret and operated by the wartime Strategic Weapons Division of the Axdel Armed Forces, serving primarily as a tactical first strike system intended to destroy closely grouped military materiel and bases with little to no forewarning. Launched into a polar orbit, the satellite was capable of targeting any location on Urths surface with ten independently targetable re-entry vehicles, and when needed could perform significant orbital adjustments with its gimballed thrusters.
Kevatuul photographed from the 2nd stage of the Alus rocket manoeuvring into retrograde orientation
Kevatuul became the first use of nuclear weapons in warfare and the first use of nuclear weapons on a city when, during an espionage incident and breakdown of relations, it was used to target the Ethalrian city of Ribenstadt at the end of the war, causing widespread devastation and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Whilst retaliation and further strikes between Auroran belligerents were avoided, Kevatuul nonetheless precipitated a global change in mindset on the acceptable uses of nuclear weapons, which led to the establishment of several international treaties limiting their use, such as the Cynebury Accord.
An N-1 warhead