5 ms·
No rocket has had 100% reliability. And you need to be pretty close to that if you want to make sure your nuclear-powered rocket won't explode either at take-of
by mtgx 9y ago
No rocket has had 100% reliability. And you need to be pretty close to that if you want to make sure your nuclear-powered rocket won't explode either at take-off or when landing.
Even if rockets were as reliable as airplanes, it still wouldn't be good enough. We've had several major plane crashes just in the past decade. Now imagine if each of those made a nuclear explosion. Do you think that would be acceptable?
We don't have fission-powered rockets because the math works against them, not because of humans' "irrational fear of nuclear power."
- nickik 9y agoNuclear thermal rocket would be best for upper stages or mars-earth transfer vehicles. Nuclear power to use on ion thrusts would only be used in Space.
- Tuna-Fish 9y agoThere is very little point in using a fission rocket low in the atmosphere (wouldn't play to it's strengths, would not be much better than chemical rockets), but there is no problem in lifting fission rocket engines to orbit, because a fission reactor made out of U-235 is not significantly radioactive before it's turned on. So you can ship it into orbit in some configuration where it cannot turn on by accident (half of fuel removed and in storage or on a different rocket), and then only turn it on when you are in a safe orbit pointing away from earth.