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Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: REAL Star Wars...
Message-ID: <6199@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 3-Dec-85 14:26:39 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.6199
Posted: Tue Dec  3 14:26:39 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 3-Dec-85 14:26:39 EST
References: <8512021425.AA16632@s1-b.arpa>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 13

> ...What really killed Orion, I suspect, is the fallout problem. ...

That's not what killed it at the time, although it would prevent restarting
it now.  Its originators were aware of the issue.  At a time when nuclear
tests in the atmosphere were routine, the extra fallout from a moderate level
of Orion testing and use would have been minor.  With fallout-production rates
much reduced nowadays, it would be less acceptable.  The Test-Ban Treaty did
administer the coup de grace to Orion, since the two were incompatible without
further negotiation (which is provided for in the treaty, by the way), but the
project was already nearly dead for lack of support.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry