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Interesting. I know that the idea of launching radioactive waste into the sun or out of the solar system is highly criticized for the potential for things to go
by mholt 10y ago
Interesting. I know that the idea of launching radioactive waste into the sun or out of the solar system is highly criticized for the potential for things to go wrong (and rightly so), but do the critics really think that the earth -- with humans on it -- will be more reliable in 10,000 years than space flight even 100 years from now?
- Joof 10y agoNo, but they won't be nearly as catastrophic or as expensive.
- Merad 10y agoGetting out of the solar system is incredibly difficult. Well, not necessarily difficult, but expensive. So far we've launched a grand total of five spacecraft that will leave our solar system, with a combined mass of just over 2500 kg. That doesn't even put a dent in the amount of nuclear waste we're talking about. Somewhat counter intuitively, it's actually a bit more difficult to crash into the sun than to leave the solar system. There's also the small problem that an explosion on launch could result in a massive area being exposed to highly concentrated radioactive fallout.