Re: Greenies and nuclear energy
What the ecologists (and mr Michio Kaku, the famous cosmologist) are afraid of are the first few minutes of launch, within the atmosphere and also the eventual accidental re-entry.
What NASA needs to do is to demonstrate it's safe to launch, that the nuclear reactors, as long as they are not armed, cannot harm and why.
I remember ,for Cassini, the nuclear stuff was in the form of small hard pellets that could withstand 25 G's (more than what the Challenger went through during the explosion).
But, what if after 3 years, a new Nasa administrator is nominated by a more pro-environment government while this one would not have had the time yet to implement renewed nuclear energy in space?
Raoul