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IMO risk is absolutely not the primary reason that nuclear-powered rockets don't exist.
by throwawayjava 9y ago
IMO risk is absolutely not the primary reason that nuclear-powered rockets don't exist.
- njarboe 9y agoWhat is the primary reason? Many people would love to work on such a project and some people would fund them. Would you agree that fundamental physics does not preclude a functioning nuclear rocket? Where would one build, much less test, such a device as a nuclear-powered rocket? We can't even agree in the US where to bury inert (mostly) ceramic radioactive waste. A live, radioactive (low-level, but still radioactive) exhaust stream is not going to happen in the US in the current culture.
- throwawayjava 9y ago> Would you agree that fundamental physics does not preclude a functioning nuclear rocket?... What is the primary reason? Yes. No demand. > Would you agree that fundamental physics does not preclude a functioning nuclear rocket? Fundamental physics also doesn't preclude a nuclear powered ferris wheel the size of the empire state building. There are lots of things that humans can do but don't do. > A live, radioactive (low-level, but still radioactive) exhaust stream is not going to happen in the US in the current culture. This hasn't stopped us from building an enormous fleet of nuclear ICBMs and a rather large fleet of nuclear power plants.