A Russian scientist has said a Soviet-era ballistic missile system dubbed ‘Satan’ should be put back into use defending the earth from asteroids. Senior rocket researcher Sabit Saitgarayev – who spoke out after a meteor burst over Russia’s Ural Mountains earlier this year damaging thousands of buildings – said the old 1960s missiles were ideally suited to destroying any potential threats streaking towards the planet from space. The researcher said the missiles, which use standard liquid fuel based on hydrazine, were ‘well-suited’ to fighting ‘suddenly discovered small [space] objects, according to a report on news.com.au. It means a missile could be launched against an approaching asteroid with a mere 20 minutes warning, in contrast to modern missile systems, which require several days of preparation ahead of a launch. Scientists claimed the meteorite that exploded over the Urals was the biggest space rock to hit earth in more than a century. Mr Saitgarayev claimed Satan missiles would be capable of destroying objects with a diameter of up to around 300ft. If equipped with a booster, the 1960s missile would be able to destroy a space object hurtling towards earth while it was still five to six hours away, he said.