pharmakos
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The next round of discovery missions (budget missions proposed by the scientific community) aren't allowed to even have a RTG (radioactive generator)
why? =/
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The Astronomy Thread
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why? =/
Sentagur
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People are scared of the launch vehicle malfunctions. They dont want a scary Nuclear thingy to blow up in the atmosphere during a RUD.
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Sentagur
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As soon as you slap an Nuclear label on something you get idiots crawling out of the woodwork and bitching about it. There is no explaining that RTG are as safe as it gets when talking anything nuclear or even compared to combustible sources of energy.
Another reason i heard they are no longer being used is because the world is running out of the radioactive isotopes needed to make them. Something about US stopping reprocessing nuclear waste 20+years ago.
I believe US was not making Pu238(welcome to some sort of a list) for couple of decades and only recently restarted the reprocessing
Another reason i heard they are no longer being used is because the world is running out of the radioactive isotopes needed to make them. Something about US stopping reprocessing nuclear waste 20+years ago.
I believe US was not making Pu238(welcome to some sort of a list) for couple of decades and only recently restarted the reprocessing
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Big Phoenix
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I thought it was because we cant even source the Plutonium anymore? Didnt we have to buy it from the Russians for Curiosity?
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Sentagur
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meStevo
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I'm assuming this is the reason, haven't seen much commentary on why.
Either way it sucks.
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khorum
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We've used uranium in weapons since halfway through the cold war and plutonium isn't a good choice for commercial power. We'd need a whole vertically-integrated industrial pipeline to procure then enrich plutonium into pu238 and that hasn't existed since the cold war. So NASA uses old stores created from when it DID exist.
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Big Phoenix
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Yeah, PU238 production is a byproduct of nuclear weapons production. No more new nuclear weapons = no more PU238.
Not having RTGs means we will never send anything beyond Jupiter. Basically, we massively fucked ourselves when it comes to space exploration. And those cock sucking retard liberals call Republicans anti science.
Not having RTGs means we will never send anything beyond Jupiter. Basically, we massively fucked ourselves when it comes to space exploration. And those cock sucking retard liberals call Republicans anti science.
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Cybsled
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It was just a byproduct of the Cold War, though. If there was a call to invest in non-nuclear weapon PU238 production for the purposes of space exploration, who would REEE at the cost (even though nukes would end up costing more)?
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meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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Dandain
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Cybsled
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Flying drone for Titan? Nice, although that can't last long. What would it use for power besides batteries. Solar is out and nuclear drones would have a weight issue I am guessing that would impact flight. If it has to rely on battery stores, realistically you'll maybe get an hour or so before it runs out of juice in that cold environment.
Edit: hmm it is nuclear
Dragonfly (spacecraft) - Wikipedia
Edit: hmm it is nuclear
Dragonfly (spacecraft) - Wikipedia
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meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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