Schweet...nuclear propulsion plans going ahead

[shamrock_uk]

Right after Nasa disappointed me in the previous thread, I've just seen this!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4329645.stm

The whole article is nice and large and has lots of pretty pictures, so go there.

Prometheus looks to nuke future By Martin Redfern BBC radio science unit The US space agency (Nasa) is progressing with ambitious plans to explore the Solar System using nuclear power. Their hope, eventually, is to use electricity generated by nuclear power to propel a space probe and power its instruments on a voyage to the icy moons of Jupiter, satellites that just possibly might harbour life beneath their ice. *big snip*

[wellard]

It was a great read Shamrock [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

(this is not spam, just a show of support for sharing this type of information)

[Hivetyrant]

I think that's a great idea. Why shouldnt they use nuclear power? It will last alot longer than other methods and will allow for much better trips, the problem I see with this are the people who will complain about the waste it will cause and where its going to go.
Especially the space hippies...Erm wait, is there such a thing [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img]

[Dace De'Briago]

This idea has been floating around for a good few decades. Anyone ever read any Arthur C. Clarke?

Nah!!! You philistines may have seen 2001: A Space Odyssey though at some stage. Many of the ideas he used in the books are fast becoming reality (3001 has some cracking ideas that have surfaced in recent years!).