"Carey Sublette" wrote in message
ink.net...



I suggest you do some reading on how metallic Uranium
behaves on impact, here's a hint - its pyrophoric

This is of course irrelvant with respect to hazards from space
nuclear reactors which use insoluble uranium ceramic fuel elements,
not metallic uranium.


The Romashka reactor used in the Kosmos series used a
Uranium Carbide fuels. While Uranium Carbide, while this
has some advantages it has negative aspects too. It suffers
from serious swelling problems and can react with water.
It is not quite so insoluble as you imply, indeed the
disposal of the UC fuel for the UK Dounreay breeder
reactor is proving problematic

A true ceramic fuel would be better of course but the
radiological effects are still there and AFAIK there
is no extant design for space use that includes such fuels
The Topaz reactor also used UC2 IRC

To the best of my knowledge Uranium Cermet fuels have
not thus far been adopted for space use

Keith