Sending nuclear waste into space
Apr. 6th, 2013 01:18 pmI'd always heard "sending nuclear waste into space" as the epitome of an impossible idea[1]. But gerald_duck pointed out that, apparently, judging from the amount of high level nuclear waste produced a year, assuming it's reprocessed (?), the cost of launching it would only add a fraction onto the cost. I was extremely sceptical, but I couldn't see any problem with the numbers.
Does anyone have any more definite figures?
(Obviously, even if it's affordable, it may be too risky, but I was surprised that it might even conceivably be affordable.)
[1] Not as bad as "sending excess ozone (or some other emission) into space". If we can capture it in one place, we can use it in industry! The problem is, it's released into the atmosphere.
Does anyone have any more definite figures?
(Obviously, even if it's affordable, it may be too risky, but I was surprised that it might even conceivably be affordable.)
[1] Not as bad as "sending excess ozone (or some other emission) into space". If we can capture it in one place, we can use it in industry! The problem is, it's released into the atmosphere.