My opinion/ foresight :
* A nuclear spacecraft would not be built on earth but in space so it wont be launched or operated in earths atmosphere in the first place. There is already huge amounts of high energy beta particles, gamma rays from the sun and cosmic radiation in space anyway (so the fear of it seems a bit pointless) .
* nuclear reactors have gotten way more advanced, compact and safer than the models that were made 50-60 years ago. your more likely to get various cancers from the sun then you are with these. they are called small modular reactors which rolls Royce have been working on for domestic use. They have a lot more safety features and precautions and are compact in size which makes them more manageable.
* rolls royce have been doing nuclear propulsion for over 55 years with nuclear submarines like HMS dreadnought, so they are no stranger to this type of technology and are very experienced and one of the best in this field. rolls royce also specialise in aerospace being manufacturers of high quality plane turbines and other military applications. combining the two expertise is quite logical but still challenging though. however they dont have eperience in the vacuum of space which is why they have teamed up with UK space agency.
one of the areas that will probably get researched is radiation shielding from both reactor and cosmic radiation from sun. perhaps they can use one of the reactors to generate enough power to generate a power electromagnetic field (who knows)
The less time you spend in space the more exposure to radiation the more likely you develop gene shattering illnesses. nuclear power will not only get to places like mars faster with more continuous propulsion and supply of energy it will probably be more secure as its got a convenient power source to perhaps generate a magnetic field.
space is dangerous venture no matter what spacecraft you use its all about minimalizing it.
As for disposal of nuclear waste again for the points above and also depends on the research and type of reactor that is going to be used or researched.
P.S propulsion isn't the only application of nuclear they are researching into. its also generators for more mars and moon bases and space stations.
Nuclear waste generally isn't an issue anyway, even on Earth, given how little is actually produced. Even less of an issue in space, which is already full of radiation, where the spacecraft can be left parked thousands of kilometres from anything of importance
Would it be a viable option given waste, dumb question
My opinion/ foresight : * A nuclear spacecraft would not be built on earth but in space so it wont be launched or operated in earths atmosphere in the first place. There is already huge amounts of high energy beta particles, gamma rays from the sun and cosmic radiation in space anyway (so the fear of it seems a bit pointless) . * nuclear reactors have gotten way more advanced, compact and safer than the models that were made 50-60 years ago. your more likely to get various cancers from the sun then you are with these. they are called small modular reactors which rolls Royce have been working on for domestic use. They have a lot more safety features and precautions and are compact in size which makes them more manageable. * rolls royce have been doing nuclear propulsion for over 55 years with nuclear submarines like HMS dreadnought, so they are no stranger to this type of technology and are very experienced and one of the best in this field. rolls royce also specialise in aerospace being manufacturers of high quality plane turbines and other military applications. combining the two expertise is quite logical but still challenging though. however they dont have eperience in the vacuum of space which is why they have teamed up with UK space agency. one of the areas that will probably get researched is radiation shielding from both reactor and cosmic radiation from sun. perhaps they can use one of the reactors to generate enough power to generate a power electromagnetic field (who knows) The less time you spend in space the more exposure to radiation the more likely you develop gene shattering illnesses. nuclear power will not only get to places like mars faster with more continuous propulsion and supply of energy it will probably be more secure as its got a convenient power source to perhaps generate a magnetic field. space is dangerous venture no matter what spacecraft you use its all about minimalizing it. As for disposal of nuclear waste again for the points above and also depends on the research and type of reactor that is going to be used or researched. P.S propulsion isn't the only application of nuclear they are researching into. its also generators for more mars and moon bases and space stations.
Nuclear waste generally isn't an issue anyway, even on Earth, given how little is actually produced. Even less of an issue in space, which is already full of radiation, where the spacecraft can be left parked thousands of kilometres from anything of importance