[extropy-chat] "Scientists feel stifled by Bushadministration"-alternatives?

[Henrique Moraes Machado]

That's the beauty. The nuclear spaceship would be launched not from ground but from orbit. It would have to be too massive to be launched from ground anyway.
Then we first need the space elevators to assemble the ships in orbit. 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Adrian Tymes" <wingcat at pacbell.net>
To: "ExI chat list" <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 6:19 PM
Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] "Scientists feel stifled by Bushadministration"-alternatives?


> --- Henrique Moraes Machado <hemm at openlink.com.br>
> wrote:
> > Shorter trips would be preferable (IMHO). Why not
> > finally build those nuclear propelled spaceships?
> > chemical rockets are crap.
> 
> Design and build a nuclear rocket that, even if it
> explodes during liftoff (while airborne but not at
> orbital speeds), will not scatter radioactivity all
> over the ground (or, at least, the nuclear components
> that reach the ground will contain their radioactive
> material enough that they will be safe to approach
> and, maybe after a few hours or so to cool down,
> handle).  Do that, and perhaps stage some public
> demonstrations by blowing up small scale versions of
> it then wandering around the debris field with a
> geiger counter, and you might be able to overcome the
> public fear that keeps nuclear rockets from
> deployment.  (Maybe a modification of the new pebble
> bed reactors?)
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