KLOW - Atomic Research

Atomic Research

In the 1950s Syldavia had a secret but successful space program in the area of Sbrodj (named Sprodj in the English edition).

The Sprodj Atomic Research Centre, seen in Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon is located in Syldavia. The sprawling complex is located in the Zymylpathian Mountains of Syldavia (a play on the Carpathian Mountains), located close to rich deposits of uranium. The Centre is secretive and has very tightly-guarded security, including a large number of security checkpoints, helicopter surveillance, anti-aircraft artillery, and a squadron of fighter aircraft based at the facility. Work at the centre, carried out by a large team of international physicists recruited by the Syldavian government, involves research into protection from the effects of nuclear weapons, and is the base for the Syldavian space program. The facility, which seems to be entirely self-sufficient, is administered by the Director, Mr. Baxter. The Sprodj Centre has its own atomic pile for processing uranium into plutonium, and has vast facilities for the research and construction of the rocket-ship which carries Tintin and his colleagues to the moon. The gargantuan complex is last seen at the end of Explorers on the Moon, and is never again seen in the Tintin series.

In Destination Moon, the Sprodj Atomic Research Centre invites Professor Calculus to head its space division, and later Tintin and Captain Haddock to be part of the moon mission. In The Calculus Affair, Syldavia's secret agents compete with archrival Bordurian agents to kidnap Professor Calculus and obtain the secrets to develop sound-based weapons.