Space Education and Strategic Applications Journal
“ I found that accidents involving the use of nuclear power in space is not a ‘ sky-isfalling ’ threat .”
— Karl Grossman
The editorial began , “ Far more than seven people could have died if the explosion that destroyed Challenger had occurred during the next launch ....”
Incidentally , later in 1986 , NASA drastically increased the odds of a catastrophic shuttle accident to one-in-76 . It turned out the one-in-100,000 estimate was based on dubious guessing .
I found that accidents involving the use of nuclear power in space is not a “ sky-is-falling ” threat . Out of 26 U . S . space nuclear missions , there had been three accidents — the worst in 1964 involving a satellite which was powered by a SNAP 9-A radioisotope thermoelectric generator fueled with plutonium . The satellite disintegrated into the atmosphere as it came crashing back down to Earth — its plutonium dispersing as dust extensively on Earth . Dr . John Gofman , an M . D . and Ph . D ., professor of medical physics at the University of California at Berkeley , formerly associate director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , author of Poisoned Power , and involved in early studies of plutonium , long pointed to the
SNAP 9-A accident as causing an increase in lung cancer on Earth .
The Writing on the Wall
“ without reactors in orbit [ there is ] going to be a long , long light [ extension ] cord that goes down to the surface of the Earth ” to power space weapons . NASA , although organized as a civilian agency , soon understood where the money exists in Washington , D . C .— the Pentagon . And over decades , has coordinated activities with the U . S . military .
“ Without reactors in orbit [ there is ] going to be a long , long light [ extension ] cord that goes down to the surface of the Earth ” [ to power space weapons ].
— Lieutenant General James Abramson
Alternatives to Nuclear Space
As more and more research has been conducted on this important topic , other alternatives to nuclear reactors on Mars and the Moon , have emerged . Here are some examples from both print and digital media documenting this new development :
• Solar power could provide all the energy for would-be settlements , reporting the headline in
Universe
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