[extropy-chat] balloon stations at the edge of space

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Adrian Tymes <wingcat at pacbell.net> wrote:
> --- Mike Lorrey <mlorrey at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I've got a better idea: combine this balloon idea
> > with Orion. Ride the
> > balloon to above 100,000 feet and cruise to open
> > ocean, then, using the
> > gas envelope as a shock cushion (you've got your
> > orbital ship on top,
> > your bomb on the bottom, or, better, ship at the
> > nose, bomb at the
> > tail) set off your nuke. This should give you a huge
> > boost toward orbit
> > while your fallout should mostly settle in the ocean
> > in a highly
> > dispersed manner, thus greatly reducing even
> > incidental health risks.
> 
> Nice try; doesn't fly.  "They're POISONING the OCEAN!"
> for example.  You'd need to either get the radioactive
> material completely out of Earth's atmosphere
> (including potential fallout from the detonation), or
> reduce the political opposition, before using Orion.

Why? Imagine a presidential administration that doesn't give a crap
about tree hugging protesters, or a NASA which ignores the miniscule
risks of maybe a half dozen lives lost from increased cancer risk. Not
too hard to imagine, is it? If Bush can ignore the Kyoto Treaty and
NASA is willing to accept a full crew loss every 75-100 missions, as
well as the proven acceptance of risk from the Cassini flyby, a very
minor amount of fallout (note that being a high altitude detonation, it
will not be kicking up huge amounts of radiated dust and steam, unlike
ground bursts) cannot possibly exceed the noise level already present
from Chernobyl fallout across  Europe, or even come near it by any
significant degree.

=====
Mike Lorrey
Chairman, Free Town Land Development
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                         -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism


	
		
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