4 ms·
> the FAS report I linked above is from 1993 and states that "There is almost 1000 MT of reactor Pu (R-Pu) in existence now, with the amount growing by about 10
by stackedinserter 4y ago
> the FAS report I linked above is from 1993 and states that "There is almost 1000 MT of reactor Pu (R-Pu) in existence now, with the amount growing by about 100 MT per year."
Why couldn't we find a few kg for NASA missions? IIRC for Juno mission the DoE said "plutonium is out of stock for now, come later", so they had to use these oversized solar panels.
- philipkglass 4y agoThose deep space missions use plutonium 238 to power radioisotope thermoelectric generators: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-238#Use_in_radioisotope_thermoelectric_generators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-238#Use_in_radioisot... Surplus weapons plutonium is plutonium 239: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-239 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-239 Since plutonium 239 decays 275 times slower than plutonium 238, it also generates 275 times less decay heat and is therefore not useful in RTGs.
- avar 4y ago> Why couldn't we find a few kg for NASA missions? It's not a technical problem, but a bureaucratic dispute. NASA has been getting the Pu essentially for free, but the DoD/AEC made it as a byproduct. Now they don't anymore, and would like NASA's budget to pay for its manufacturing. NASA has decided it's not worth the money, and as a result is only using Pu power for missions that really need it, such as the large Mars rovers.
- stackedinserter 4y agoDidn't know it, thanks!