[classified]

600 million? That’s All?

[cranked]

I hope they fall flat on their faces in failure.

[Cheetahcat]

We prefer to Educate barely literate minorities instead of People who can make a difference in Science. We get worthless Racist ghetto organizers instead of Scientists.

[Secret Agent Man]

If it’s anything like their nuclear subs they’ll be coming back with cancer.

[Question_Assumptions]

America used to dream big like that...

[luvbach1]

The mindless opposition by a hard core to all things nuclear in this country will preclude the US from matching the Russian feat if it is achieved.

[TopQuark]

Russians to ride? The headline makes it a done deal.
Let’s see when that happens.

[The Comedian]

So now we know. The United Federation of Planets starts out as the Russian Federation...

Any way we can request they take a Kenyan with them?

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

>

[layman]

A nuclear-powered spaceship that can carry passengers to Mars and beyond

I like this idea ... especially the 'beyond' part. Where do I sign up to nominate passengers?

[Tucker39]

Six hundred million!!?? Is THAT ALL??!! For a nuclear powered vehicle to do interstellar travel??!!

It costs NASA almost that much just to fly the Shuttle back to Florida when returning flights are forced to land in California!

[Bean Counter]

Let’s be clear...”powering” a spacecraft with “nuclear power” is one thing, and “propelling” it is quite another. If you will recall, NASA was widely criticized for years over plans to launch the Cassini mission to Saturn, because the spacecraft was powered by a plutonium power source. It still needed conventional rocketry (along with numerous planetary gravity boosts) and nine or so years of travel time to get there.

The Russian’s most reliable launch vehicle uses over 20 rocket motors to launch the latest Soyez TMA-14 spacecraft whose original design is at least as old as the shuttle. (Even Gene Roddenberry didn’t think the Russians would ever amount to much, which is why Mr. Checkov wasn’t Engineering Officer....)

The bottom line is that the Russians won’t be leaving low Earth orbit any time soon even if they do figure out how to get a small nuclear reactor into orbit. All that means is that you need fewer solar panels on your “spacecraft”.

[CaptRon]

I wouldn’t ride to the next county in anything made in Russia.

[Lurker]

analogous to the way nuclear-powered submarines operate.

They're going to make a steam powered spaceship?