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There is some opposition to using nuclear material on space missions, since space travel isn't safe. The biggest fear would be a rocket blowing up at some perfe

by knorby 12y ago

There is some opposition to using nuclear material on space missions, since space travel isn't safe. The biggest fear would be a rocket blowing up at some perfect point in the launch to end up spreading plutonium-238 over a wide area. I don't think that fear is in the end warranted, but as fears of such things go, it is more justified than many.

cocoablazing 12y ago
So justify it. What is the expected number of excess cancer fatalities, given an LNT model, the known activity of NASA RTGs, and the explosion rate of deep space launches? The people who protest these things expose themselves to orders of magnitude greater risk on their drive to the protest.
- knorby 12y ago
  Most of the groups who strongly oppose this stuff are against any nuclear material whatsoever entering space. The reasons span beyond basic safety to opposing any combination of space programs with nuclear programs.
yellowapple 12y ago
There are actually quite a few RTGs on Earth (most of them - IIRC - in remote Soviet-era outposts and such) that I'd be more concerned about; they tend to be in remote areas where maintenance is difficult.
ericcumbee 12y ago
I could only find 5 cases where a space craft carrying an RTG suffered a mishap. of those only 2 resulted in the release of radiation. Both of those were in the 60s. from Wikipedia: To minimize the risk of the radioactive material being released, the fuel is stored in individual modular units with their own heat shielding. They are surrounded by a layer of iridium metal and encased in high-strength graphite blocks. These two materials are corrosion- and heat-resistant. Surrounding the graphite blocks is an aeroshell, designed to protect the entire assembly against the heat of reentering the Earth's atmosphere. The plutonium fuel is also stored in a ceramic form that is heat-resistant, minimising the risk of vaporization and aerosolization. The ceramic is also highly insoluble. it also notes that the LEM on Apollo 13 carried a RTG, and there was no sign of contamination after it re-entered and landed in the Tonga Trench. And that was a extreme outlier due to the high velocity it re-entered at being it was following a trans lunar trajectory.

by knorby 12y ago

cocoablazing 12y ago

So justify it. What is the expected number of excess cancer fatalities, given an LNT model, the known activity of NASA RTGs, and the explosion rate of deep space launches? The people who protest these things expose themselves to orders of magnitude greater risk on their drive to the protest.

knorby 12y ago
Most of the groups who strongly oppose this stuff are against any nuclear material whatsoever entering space. The reasons span beyond basic safety to opposing any combination of space programs with nuclear programs.

yellowapple 12y ago

There are actually quite a few RTGs on Earth (most of them - IIRC - in remote Soviet-era outposts and such) that I'd be more concerned about; they tend to be in remote areas where maintenance is difficult.

ericcumbee 12y ago

I could only find 5 cases where a space craft carrying an RTG suffered a mishap. of those only 2 resulted in the release of radiation. Both of those were in the 60s. from Wikipedia: To minimize the risk of the radioactive material being released, the fuel is stored in individual modular units with their own heat shielding. They are surrounded by a layer of iridium metal and encased in high-strength graphite blocks. These two materials are corrosion- and heat-resistant. Surrounding the graphite blocks is an aeroshell, designed to protect the entire assembly against the heat of reentering the Earth's atmosphere. The plutonium fuel is also stored in a ceramic form that is heat-resistant, minimising the risk of vaporization and aerosolization. The ceramic is also highly insoluble. it also notes that the LEM on Apollo 13 carried a RTG, and there was no sign of contamination after it re-entered and landed in the Tonga Trench. And that was a extreme outlier due to the high velocity it re-entered at being it was following a trans lunar trajectory.