lemonade

> Uranium is available in asteroids. This would create a justifiable
> need for a manned program if we want to mine and process the stuff
> in deep space. What could be more secure?

Well, getting the fissile material from asteroids, and keeping the
stuff far from Earth, kinda knocks the wind out of the "what if your
nuke rocket blows up on launch and scatters radioactive stuff all
over the Earth" sail.

> Perhaps the solution is finding cheaper ways to build Saturn 5's.

I'd be interested in this. Couldn't the "Saturn VI" whump even
heavier payloads now, with the use of modern, light materials. And
that isn't nuclear, which again knocks the wind out of "cantaminate
the Earth" sails.

Xenophile (who wonders what nuke can do that solar and/or beamed
power can not)