Jones Beene wrote:
I could envision 200-500 total of these planes along the east, west, and
gulf coast in continuous flight . . .
500 x 500 lbs of nuclear waste?!? 113 tons? Are you out of your mind?
However, when you look at the consequences, they are comparatively
trivial, compared with loosing a nuclear submarine or nuclear-powered
satellite and all communications satellites have some nuclear power in
addition to whatever solar power they are using . . .
I do not think so. As far as I know, only a few military satellites and
vehicles that explore the outer reaches of the solar system (where the sun
is weak) use plutonium power supplies. These power supplies survive
reentry, and for that matter they survive an exploding rocket during
launch. In any case, communication satellites are mainly parked in
geosynchronous orbits. When they get old they are moved to a higher orbit
where they will remain forever. This is because the batteries explode from
time to time. See:
"Where Satellites Go When They Die
To a higher plane."
http://www.slate.com/id/2117519/
(By the way, if you could post your messages without HTML text formatting
it would be easier for me to read them.)
- Jed
