On Nov 7, 8:03*pm, " wrote:
Why all the hate on any nuclear radiation

Orion can put 10,000 *people base on the moon or Mars in 1 go , or a
100GWat solar power station ( global warming anyone ) . Launch costs
can be down to $10/kg .

The Bombs are not random explosions they are shaped charges that
direct the blast and radiation towards the ship. Statistically the
radiation will kill 1 person *( which is less than the Xrays in a
large hospital over 30 years) .

People forget the opportunity cost if Nasa budgets was funneled into
the health case of the poor 100-1000 lives per year would be saved or
in Africa millions. *I bet at least 100 people have died building the
shuttle in work or travel to work related incidents. *When you build
an Oil pipeline for $3B its normal that 20 or so people will die.

There seems to be an unrational fear of radiation consider the amount
of *dangerous materials with infinite half lives eg lead, Cadmium ,
Dioxin etc we don't go around purging there from the Lithosphere *?

Im not advocating Orion should be the MAIN form but for bulk lifting
it will provide a massive benefit to the space program . eg a Fueling
station with 1M tons of fuel in Orbit Mars expeditions become
trivial .

Consider
Risk to humanity - Put people permanently on a different planet or the
moon or the ability to defeat a large asteroid or meteor.
The cost savings compared to conventional can be spent on medical
programs and save lives.
One launch can remove 10-30 Nuclear or coal power stations.
Global warming , no problem just launch huge shades

The only problem with Orion is its hard to put small quantities eg
less than 4-10,000 tons in Orbit.

This a big piece of hardware. If it works well the
tendency will be to use it often. So the environmental
may add up. It is a numbers thing. To convince me
I really need to see the numbers or at the very
minimum have someone look at the numbers
the had no bias and a deep engineering background
and then they put the blessing on the program.

Personally I don't see the moon as a great goal
as it stands. Perhaps if resources were completely
confirmed and something that result in returns
down here on old earth, it would make sense.

A lunar colony would feel like a prison to me.
I think the colony would be underground tunnel
system with sealed walls. Perhaps it could
extract water but I have my doubts. The lack
of nitrogen and other resources would mean
a lunar colony will always be a dependency.
That is not saying it is impossible that it might
have value on balance.

And as to sun shades, I have doubts. Light
pressure if nothing else would make them impractical
and serve to degrade their orbits.

Mars has more resources. And the larger asteroids
may have enough water ice to be useful.
But again one ends up living in a tunnel system at best.

As some have suggested this would be a one way
trip for most. I mean the miners, mechanics, and technicians.
Indeed, they might not be able to return because of
the prolonged low gravity environment. What pleasures
or rewards could be offered to the under-classes
to go on this one way trip? A bowl of rice?

How is your proposed shielding against
cosmic particle radiation? Passive? Graded?
Active?

Bury my bones on earth...................Trig