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Franklin Chang Diaz's proposed VASIMR rocket engine could create very versatile spacecraft. Not only does the plasma-fueled rocket have the potential to make a trip to Mars in just over a month, it could also help clean up space trash in Earth orbit. “Our goal is to be able to have a garbage [...]
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I'm all for a garbage collection effort. Plasma or Ion, I don't care. Send it up with some kevlar baggies.
Forming opinions as we speak
Established Member
With the strong resistance to launching any nuclear-powered 'thing' into outer solar-system, I would expect that an orbiting nuke (assume it'll carry an RTG) would be VERY opposed by fringe groups no matter the purpose. I can imagine the headlines
Alex
Established Member
Originally Posted by AlexInOklahoma
With the strong resistance to launching any nuclear-powered 'thing' into outer solar-system, I would expect that an orbiting nuke (assume it'll carry an RTG) would be VERY opposed by fringe groups no matter the purpose. I can imagine the headlines
Alex
Yeah. When we launched the Cassini mission they threatened to "swim the alligator infested swamp" to block the launch because of the RTG that powered the probe.
Unfortunately they did not. Too bad. I was rather looking forward to watching that.
Established Member
They can call it a United Galaxies Sanitation Patrol Cruiser (5 points to anyone getting the reference).
Nick
Order of Kilopi
A 200kW VASIMR in Earth orbit would be solar powered.
Order of Kilopi
Solar powercells on one side, and an aerogel slab on the other?
Order of Kilopi
I think the idea may be to match vectors and do a low velocity pickup of well tracked pieces of trash. Trying to do a high speed pickup seems pretty risky to me. If the trash isnt hit square on, the resulting damage could be pretty catastrophic. A 200 kW VASIMR takes alot of solar panels.
Order of Kilopi
It wouldn't have to be VASIMR, though that would help. A high speed approach would clear space rather quickly. One of Energiya's payloads was to have been a similar craft.
Order of Kilopi
VASIMR should give enough ISP to allow far more time retreving garbage as opposed to getting refueled than any other current technology.
High speed approaches are not useful for larger objects. Anything much bigger than a nut would destroy the spacecraft.
Order of Kilopi
There were very few protesters during actual launch of Cassini. I recall one of them saying "We are demonstrating how dangerous this launch is by not going anywhere near it!"
NOtice that the launch of New Horizons, also nuclear-powered, had hardly any protests at all, at any stage of its development. The absence of Earth flybys may have had something to do with it, but I think anti-nuclear sentiments are decreasing overall.
Order of Kilopi
Or the Cassini controversy may have simply been a fluke. You know, every once in a while some crazy thing or another captures some attention even if there's nothing much to it.
How many other nuclear powered spacecraft have made any controversy? Just Cassini? Then I'd say we can lump the Cassini controversy in with other fad issues.
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