4 ms·
Nuclear batteries are 1) heavier, 2) more expensive, 3) politically complicated.
by skywhopper 12y ago
Nuclear batteries are 1) heavier, 2) more expensive, 3) politically complicated.
- Someone1234 12y agoAtomic batteries aren't really controversial or politically sensitive and have been used to great effect by many nations involved in space travel. There's some problem with Tritium expose if the craft exploded on launch but those haven't really stopped it usage.
- adestefan 12y agoThe issue is getting the plutonium.
- virtue3 12y agonasa almost used up the last bits of our reserves of it for the last mars lander. Thankfully it appears that the united states department of energy is re-visiting generating plutonium-238 for NASA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-238#United_States_supply http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium-238#United_States_sup...
- protomyth 12y agoYet another reason to build thorium reactors since the "waste product" is PU-238.
- noselasd 12y agoIt's been developed for spacecraft use by Russia, China and the US, that's it. It IS politically sensitive in Europe.
- NamTaf 12y ago4) Rare and are designed to last ages, whereas this thing will burn up far earlier, wasting the rare ingredients.