[aruanan]

The prospect of contaminating space with radioactive waste is certain to draw strong opposition from the same environmental and anti-nuclear groups that have opposed the use of nuclear power sources in NASA's deep space missions.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha--breath--ha ha ha ha ha ha.....

Space, the biggest "thing" around, populated by an almost uncountable number of stars, all of which are constantly spewing vast quantities of radiation far and wide, and someone is worried about contaminating space with the output of a totally insignificant amount of radiation from a nuclear rocket engine? Anyone who is needs to have his head examined for the nearly perfect vacuum it contains.

[Brett66]

You laugh about the absurdity of people worried about contaminating space with radiation but these enviro-goofs do make that argument seriously. Anyone with half a brain knows better, but that's assuming the enviro-weenies have a brain at all.
Something I still can't figure out is why Michio Kaku, a brilliant physicist, spearheaded all of the protests against Cassini which was powered by a nuclear battery.
There was no scenario under which that battery was a threat to the Earth, even if it blew up and sprayed debris all over the US.
Kaku knew this, but there he was throwing in his hat with the brain dead enviro-weenies and their uninformed fearmongering.
I still can't figure out why he supported the insane ramblings of these freaks.
Maybe he's just a Marxist and all of the useful idiots generally served his purposes.

[fourdeuce82d]

"Anyone who is (worried about radioactive contamination of space) needs to have his head examined for the nearly perfect vacuum it contains."

"opposition (because of contamination fears)from the same environmental and anti-nuclear groups that have opposed the use of nuclear power sources in NASA's deep space missions.

I agree with the sentiment, but examination is really superfluous.