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ExtonGuy t1_jdy3ghz wrote

We would risk the nuclear rockets crashing back to Earth, into a city. Even if it's only 1 in 10,000, that's too much risk. Chemical rockets are bad enough.

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Postnificent OP t1_jdy3m7v wrote

A nuclear ship is the next step according to nasa. It’s actually the best use of fission I have ever seen.

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pmMeAllofIt t1_jdyd4hm wrote

Nuclear rockets won't "ignite" until they're in a nuclear safe orbit, and it will be on a escape trajectory away from Earth. And a large rocket as you propose likely won't be able to have any prolonged operation in LEO, it would be above where the majority of debris is.

All of this ignores the simple fact that this isn't a video game, you don't just drive around picking up trash. You can use it to send trash away once you collect it, but it's not even remotely a good proposal on how to collect it.

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