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Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Re: Debris from Upcomming ASAT Test
Message-ID: <6015@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Oct-85 13:46:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.6015
Posted: Thu Oct  3 13:46:40 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 3-Oct-85 13:46:40 EDT
References: <385@aurora.UUCP> <15800003@uiucdcsp> <108@muscat.UUCP>, <634@osu-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 21

> ... The USA uses nuclear power
> plants. Take a look at the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft.  But those
> are deep space vehicles! you say?  Until they get into deep space they
> can still fall.  That's even more of a problem in these days of shuttle
> launch rather than booster launch.

We're talking about two very different kinds of nuclear power source here.
The Soviet radar satellites use nuclear reactors, and rely on being boosted
into high orbit to avoid destructive re-entry and radioactive debris.  The
US probes use the heat from encapsulated radioactive isotopes.  The capsules
of isotope are designed to survive re-entry without breaking up; several of
them have re-entered without grave effects.  The two technologies have very
different characteristics and have to be dealt with separately.

Note that even the Soviet reactors have no serious launch-safety problem,
because the reactor doesn't fire up until it reaches orbit.  The materials
that are in the reactor to start with are not seriously dangerous; the nasty
stuff is the result of lengthy reactor operation.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry


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