07-28-2015, 08:53 AM
Well, a big part of the problem is that in most peoples minds, all "nuclear" power is pretty much the same.
This would be like mentally lumping all "combustion" engines together, reckoning that a steam engine, a coal plant, a natural gas plant, and a Ferrari F136 engine are all pretty much the same.
In reality, just like "combustion," "nuclear" is a very generic term that encompasses a wide range of designs. I wouldn't want a 1900s-era steam-powered factory in my town any more than I would want a first-generation nuclear plant, but that is no reason to condemn the entire class of power source (in either case).
But I saw a suggestion this week that launching uranium (or, presumably, other fissile materials) just isn't politically acceptable, and that we won't have nuclear power in space until we are mining it from the Moon or other offworld sources. I'm not so sure — it seems to me that the Russians have no qualms about launching it, and will launch pretty much anything for anybody if the price is right. Same for the Chinese (funny how the classically communist countries now epitomize capitalism, eh?). So that's another way to get fuel in orbit... and it's not like it takes very much.
On the other hand, if we're collectively happier getting our uranium from the Moon or NEAs, then I'm all for it. The more commerce and industry we get off-planet, the sooner we'll expand into the solar system in a big way.
This would be like mentally lumping all "combustion" engines together, reckoning that a steam engine, a coal plant, a natural gas plant, and a Ferrari F136 engine are all pretty much the same.
In reality, just like "combustion," "nuclear" is a very generic term that encompasses a wide range of designs. I wouldn't want a 1900s-era steam-powered factory in my town any more than I would want a first-generation nuclear plant, but that is no reason to condemn the entire class of power source (in either case).
But I saw a suggestion this week that launching uranium (or, presumably, other fissile materials) just isn't politically acceptable, and that we won't have nuclear power in space until we are mining it from the Moon or other offworld sources. I'm not so sure — it seems to me that the Russians have no qualms about launching it, and will launch pretty much anything for anybody if the price is right. Same for the Chinese (funny how the classically communist countries now epitomize capitalism, eh?). So that's another way to get fuel in orbit... and it's not like it takes very much.
On the other hand, if we're collectively happier getting our uranium from the Moon or NEAs, then I'm all for it. The more commerce and industry we get off-planet, the sooner we'll expand into the solar system in a big way.
Joe Strout
Lead Developer, High Frontier