mindlessgames
mindlessgames t1_j5svplp wrote
Reply to Hey, can someone explain to me why we are not stending nuclear waste into space having a reliable rocket that can carry a decent amounts of cargo? I'm thinking about Falcon Heavy. One start a year would mean that US doesn't need to store anymore waste underground. by William0fBaskerville
It's not actually that bad to store it and it's really bad if a rocket full of radioactive fuel fails in flight.
mindlessgames t1_j1eqk5s wrote
Reply to comment by Randvek in Microplastics deposited on the seafloor have tripled in 20 years, study shows by Additional-Two-7312
I'll give you one guess what all those plastic bottles and containers decay into.
mindlessgames t1_j1cly1y wrote
Reply to comment by Randvek in Microplastics deposited on the seafloor have tripled in 20 years, study shows by Additional-Two-7312
Everything we buy comes in a plastic container.
mindlessgames t1_j1c8v5p wrote
Reply to comment by BlueSunCorporation in Microplastics deposited on the seafloor have tripled in 20 years, study shows by Additional-Two-7312
Europe does it just fine, when they want to.
mindlessgames t1_j6o0kvk wrote
Reply to If the concepts of Project Orion were proven, why don't we use them for space guns? by [deleted]
You have to design a payload that can survive a nuclear explosion imparting the entire launch energy in an instant.
Sure, maybe you can launch a solid 100T block of steel. What do you do with that once it's in orbit? There's no space lathe to turn it into anything useful. Can you actually design a survivable vehicle to carry any other payload?
Assuming we have some reason to launch 100T blocks of steel into space, where are you sourcing them from? How can you transport them to the site? How are you going to load them into the gun? Does anyone need 100T blocks of steel in space right now?
How long do you think your barrel is going to survive repeated nuclear blasts for launch? How are you going to replace your barrel when it needs to be changed?
How much is it going to cost to build your gun? How many decades of launching 100T steel blocks into orbit, for which we have no orbital manufacturing capability whatsoever, will it take to make your money back?