May the force be with her: Russian woman sneaks into missile factory... and discovered it looks just like a scene from Star Wars


These incredible pictures were taken by a young Russian woman after she crept inside a factory belonging to one of the world's top manufacturers of liquid-fuel rockets.

Lana Sator found her way into one of NPO Energomash's huge factories outside the Russian capital Moscow, without coming across a single security guard - or indeed any other employees at all.



But she could now be in some serious trouble with the Russian government.



Lana Sator poses on machinery at the crumbling Energomash plant outside Moscow You can't see me: Ms Sator poses cheekily next to a CCTV camera in the plant Truth is stranger than (science) fiction: This picture looks like something from the Death Star, but is actually the inside of the Energomash plant Out of service? These appear to be the exhaust pipes at the bottoms of two gargantuan space rockets

The lights are on... but nobody seems to be home: This photograph shows the heavy machinery that built liquid-fuel rockets used to send astronauts into space

Heavy industry: These heavy duty pipes and valves must, it appears, play a very important role in the factory, but were left completely unguarded

The young blogger and her friends were able to simply jump over the fence surrounding the complex, climb the ladders surrounding the outside, and find their way right into its heart through a series of gangways, tunnels and pipes.

But this apparently decrepit factory is far from abandoned. NPO Energomash builds rockets that power the modern Soyuz, the Zenit 3SL, and the Angara and Baikal launch vehicles.

Their RD-180 engine powers the first stage of the Atlas V, an American rocket, and they have strong ties to the Russian military - which has one of the biggest arsenals of nuclear armed ballistic missiles in the world

The Russian government has already responded to Ms Sator's adventures in the strategically important site. Officials have sent her letters warning that her situation will get 'much worse' if she keeps posting photos from the factory online.

For her part, Ms Sator has been undeterred and simply posted the letters on her own blog - lana.sator.livejournal.com - for the world to see.

Yet another mystery piece of equipment is pictured in a chamber within the Energomash site

Vertigo: This picture shows the snowy exterior of the plant from the top of one of its structures

Low security: The outside of the plant is marked by the absence of any guard hut

Far from out of service: The plant is pictured steaming away from a distance during the day time



