Hum Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) -- The United States is poised to produce plutonium-238 for the first time since the end of the Cold War but it will be used for space missions, not weapons, officials said this week. The U.S. Department of Energy will decide this fall whether to move forward with its proposal to produce the radioactive metal at a federal nuclear facility in southeast Idaho, a department spokesman said. Under the $300 million plan, the Idaho National Laboratory would produce 11 pounds (5 kg) of plutonium-238 a year for 30 years starting in 2011. The non-weapons-grade plutonium is used to power everything from satellites to deep space probes, leading industry insiders to call the finished product "space batteries." The proposal calls for half the batteries to be earmarked for NASA projects and the rest for undisclosed national security purposes. The United States needs to produce plutonium because its stockpiles are low and because an agreement with Russia prevents it from using plutonium-238 produced there for security or defense applications, according to DOE analyses. more: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/09/02/s...reut/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neowin_hipster Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Got no problem for nucular space thingys. People hear the word nuclear and immediately think death and destruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shibby Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 I wouldn't mind such things used for space. But i just hope that they bulid it really really well so it doesn't go bang. And also i hope it doesn't harm any crew Still a good iea. People been talking about it for ages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts