Russian propaganda sure is an “interesting” take on reality. The bully whines about getting their nose bloodied and is surprised nobody has any sympathy for them.

Good topic, good point, terrible writing. I couldn’t finish the article with the author’s ego and personal bias butting into his great story.

The biggest hazard is launching the payload, if it fails it falls out over a large area causing contamination of the nuclear fuel. The high orbit of the test vehicle lowers the risks for the other outcomes you identified, and they are planned to remain in these so called “disposal orbits” for many hundreds of years. Things can get very very far apart in space. The Russian recon satellites were operated in low earth orbit and their failures were well documented and even attempted to mitigate by the soviets, though they did fail with very bad consequences at least three times.

Have another look at Ecco’s they’re exactly what you’re looking for. There are good models for 1-200 dollars that last for years and are great for putting city miles on. I got a pair about four years ago when I was commuting on busses and going through cheap shoes every couple months. They’re still in great shape and clean up nice.

Also this: