Nuclear energy question

[LordShaithis]

When one kilogram of nuclear waste is generated, how much energy is produced? How does this compare to the energy required to accelerate one kilogram of mass beyond the earth's gravity?

I'm just wondering if "shooting our nuclear waste into space" is even mathematically worth thinking about, or if the very concept is just a guaranteed waste of energy.

[Exonerate]

Another problem is that having radioactive waste in orbit around our planet is very bad... One of our spacecraft got a crack in the window from a flying paint chip. Imagine what happens if you get hit by one of those cement/lead containers. Not fun.

[Sea Skimmer]

Today's Rockets are nowhere near reliable enough to be used for nuclear waste. You'd be talking about hundreds if not thousands of launches. Even if you can get 99% reliability, unlikely, that stills gives you tens of tons of radioactive derbies raining back down onto the earth.

Hurray! Chernobyl several times over!

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

When one kilogram of nuclear waste is generated, how much energy is produced? How does this compare to the energy required to accelerate one kilogram of mass beyond the earth's gravity?

I'm just wondering if "shooting our nuclear waste into space" is even mathematically worth thinking about, or if the very concept is just a guaranteed waste of energy.

Nope. Very, very, inefficient. Remember it requires large quantities of fuel just to push a kilogram of payload to orbit. (Most of a chemical rocket is made up of fuel.) In order to shoot nuclear waste off into space, we'd need a cheap, and, above all, reliable method of launching payloads into space.

[TrailerParkJawa]

It is not a reliable way to do things. Consider how many vehicle explosions there have been in our lifetimes. If you think the political opposition to Yucca Mountain is bad, wait till you try to ships the stuff out via a rocket.

[SHODAN]

BTW GAPrawn, answer to your initial question: http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/Sci ... tants.html