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Nuclear 'Asteroids' Due In A Few Hundred Years
easyCoder writes "In this space.com article, it mentions a RORSAT satellite that has been leaking radioactive coolant, leaving little droplets of it in orbit around our planet. However, further down, it also mentions this, quoted here for maximum impact: 'After a RORSATs tour-of-duty was over, the reactor's fuel core was shot high above Earth into a "disposal orbit." Once at that altitude the power supply unit would take several hundred years before it reentered the Earth's atmosphere.' Wow. So ... our great-grandchildren can expect a lovely day, partly cloudy with the occasional nuclear reactor plummeting down from outer space."
I used to be neutral or pro nuclear powered stuff, especially space fairing vehicles... but now I see this as a very good point against it.
1 thing, I think we can probably fix when the time comes by altering its orbit or destroying it; but if everything put into space had a nuclear core, i think we'd all be screwed eventually.
It also does make current space travel more dangerous, having other stuff up there like that.
no comment
Parent got modded up? Man, they're giving those points out like candy these days!
uh, lasers make radioactive things non-radioactive?
gee, wouldn't that be sweet.
sorry, no. the startwars thing was just meant to make icbm's strategically useless by having them fail to reach target. so it's like you shoot for the states, but actually just litter france and canada, see? mayber wyoming on a bad day.
and they didn't actually do the starwars laser thing. right now you got a missle program that doesn't work (further failures, i mean tests, will be secret to keep the heat off funding, thanks to rumy), and there's still no solution at all for mylar balloon decoys.
but what the heck, that system might be able to stop a returning sat core from hitting the whitehouse, sure
i'd like to say i appreciate your innocence and optimisim. you've got what makes america great. it was a pleasure talking to you mr.bush, and anytime you want to drop by again we'll be here for you.
WHAT?!
If a drop of coolent impacting another satelite is a danger then god help all the other satelites that have to deal with the naturally occuring objects out there that aren't falling the same speed as the coolent drop but are actually go many times faster.First, you may wish to create another account as to not dishonor those that truely where Marines.
Second, please learn (something|anything) about orbital dynamics before you speak on the subject again.
I passed the Chernobyl bike ride link from a few days ago around to a few friends. One fired this one back. So aparrently you're not too far off the mark either.
Notice they are both on angelfire.com.
Coincidence? I think not.
Don't be stupid. Several hundred years from now it will be like the street sweepers of today. Get a grip and drop the hissy fit.
If those little punks are incapable of safely retrieving these reactors in the next hundred or so years, the little slackers deserve what they get.
Maybe it can be defined as a weapon of mass destruction and we can invade. Kinda shines a new light on GW's sudden interest in space travel.
Viv
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