A nuclear rocket might be fueled with about 100 lbs of Uranium-235 when its launched into orbit. That represents about 0.0036 Terabecquerels of radioactivity that could potentially be dispersed into the environment in case of a Columbia-type disaster (although its more likely to end up on the ground, similar to bolts & nuts).
How does that compare to a 'Chernobyl in the sky' ?
The total amount of radioactivity released by the Chernobyl explosion was estimated at about 11,000,000 Terabecquerels, or about three billion times as much. That would be the equivalent, for example, of the Columbia space shuttle having a crew of 77 million astronauts, if we applied the same factor.
The amount of Plutonium-239 alone released by Chernobyl was about 26 Terabecquerels, or 7,200 times as much -- the equivalent of the Columbia space shuttle having a crew of 50,400 astronauts, if we applied the same factor.
This gives you some idea of the accuracy of the statements of physicist Edward Lyman,
head of the private Nuclear Control Institute in Washington, D.C.
Regards,
Jaro Franta, P.Eng.
Tel.: (514) 875-3444
Fax: (514) 875-3484
Montreal, Quebec
frantaj@aecl.ca
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Nuclear-powered spacecraft plan feared - Opponents see 'Chernobyl in sky' should vehicle fail
Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle
URL:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/02/04/MN239056.DTL
Saturday's space shuttle disaster has stirred grassroots opposition
to the Bush administration's recently announced plan to develop
nuclear-powered space rockets.
"If there had been a nuclear reactor on board (the Columbia space
shuttle), this debris field they're warning people not to come too close
to would be a considerably bigger mess," said physicist Edward Lyman,
head of the private Nuclear Control Institute in Washington, D.C.