Meredith Simonds
06-25-2010, 09:03 PM
As reported by The Huffington Post, the Obama administration wants to revive the use of nuclear power in space. Specifically, we would "produce the plutonium isotope that has been used for electric generation in space and [the administration] is also looking to build nuclear-propelled rockets for missions to Mars..."
THE PROBLEM
"In 1964 a satellite with a plutonium-fueled generator, after failing to achieve orbit, fell to Earth, breaking up as it hit the atmosphere and dispersing 2.1 pounds of Pu-238 from its SNAP -- (for Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power) 9A system. A study by a group of European health and radiation protection agencies reported that "a worldwide soil sampling program in 1970 showed SNAP-9A debris present at all continents and at all latitudes."
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THE PROBLEM
"In 1964 a satellite with a plutonium-fueled generator, after failing to achieve orbit, fell to Earth, breaking up as it hit the atmosphere and dispersing 2.1 pounds of Pu-238 from its SNAP -- (for Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power) 9A system. A study by a group of European health and radiation protection agencies reported that "a worldwide soil sampling program in 1970 showed SNAP-9A debris present at all continents and at all latitudes."
More...