Quote:
Originally Posted by cmac2012
That is an attractive solution except for the fact that sooner or later a launch will fail. In the worst circumstance, as happened once with a vessel with a few pounds of plutonium aboard, the craft does a long, broad re-entry, leaving a smoking trail of its contents over a large area.
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Nuclear powered satellites have been put into orbit since the 70's. The Soviet Union alone has launched over 35. I haven't read of any failed launches.
The incident you site was a satellite coming out of orbit. A missile shot straight into space is different. Plus I believe payload could be made to survive re-entry if there is a launch failure. The astronauts routinely survive re-entry.