{"id":8521,"date":"2021-10-21T19:01:15","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T19:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1370709"},"modified":"2021-10-21T19:01:15","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T19:01:15","slug":"nasa-wants-to-build-nuclear-space-craft-what-could-go-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=8521","title":{"rendered":"NASA wants to build nuclear space craft \u2014 what could go wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NASA executives and experts struck an urgent tone with Congress earlier this week over discussions pertaining to the space agency\u2019s nuclear budget.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, I\u2019m sorry. Did I say <i>NASA\u2018s nuclear budget?<\/i><span> Surely not. Right? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1370711 aligncenter js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex.jpg\" alt=\"A Padme meme about NASA and SpaceX\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-280x158.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-796x448.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-1200x675.jpg 1200w\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1370711 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex.jpg\" alt=\"A Padme meme about NASA and SpaceX\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-280x158.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-796x448.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/10\/not-spacex-1200x675.jpg 1200w\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Here\u2019s a meaningful quote via Paul Brinkman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upi.com\/Science_News\/2021\/10\/20\/NASA-Congress-Mars-nuclear-propulsion\/9971634743017\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">writing for UPI<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"15\">\n<p><span>\u2018Strategic competitors including China are aggressively investing in a wide range of space technologies, including nuclear power and propulsion,\u2019 Bhavya Lal, NASA\u2018s senior advisor for budget and finance, said during a congressional committee hearing Wednesday morning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u2018The United States needs to move at a fast pace to stay competitive and to remain a leader in the global space community,\u2019 Lal said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span><strong>Background:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know who needs to hear this (NASA, definitely NASA), but maybe developing a nuclear spacecraft program is one of those things where the old tech adage of \u201cmove fast and break things\u201d doesn\u2019t fit very well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>NASA\u2018s made some major pivots in how it approaches its mission over the past presidency and a half. The new space race, the one where whoever puts a human on Mars first wins, has been politically-engineered to require the support of civilian-sector billionaires.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Can we all just pause our day for just a second, take a deep breath, and imagine a world where Congress and NASA somehow conspire to give Elon Musk the okay to build nuclear propulsion systems in his SpaceX factories?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is the dude who sold a personal, portable, device that emitted flames from a nozzle and called it \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2021\/01\/19\/elon-musk-said-it-was-not-a-flamethrower\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">not a flamethrower<\/a>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When safety regulatory committees recommended&nbsp;EV manufacturers create sound packages to make their vehicles sound more like traditional cars \u2013 on account that it made things safer for pedestrians \u2013 Musk wanted to make sure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/10\/7\/20902506\/tesla-cars-elon-musk-fart-bleat-safety-horn-movement-sounds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">it played fart noises<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Seriously, this is the guy who sold cities around the world on the idea of magnetically-levitating underground transportation pods capable of making the trip between New York and LA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hartfordbusiness.com\/article\/hyperloop-promises-ny-to-la-in-45-minutes#:~:text=Serial%20entrepreneur%20and%20billionaire%20Elon,Los%20Angeles%20in%2045%20minutes.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">faster than a Boeing superjet<\/a>. And then <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/the-boring-company-fails-to-excite-with-cars-in-tunnels\">he dug some tunnels in Las Vegas so he can offer people $10 rides in a used Tesla<\/a>. <em>Underground!<\/em> In a city that\u2019s famous for having a skyline dotted with giant shining signs!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Don\u2019t get me wrong. I think he\u2019s hilarious. Fart noises? Selling a dozen governments on a technology that doesn\u2019t exist and then delivering a <\/span><span><i>tunnel<\/i><\/span><span>?!? This dude is amazing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> I can just see him staring some fancy politician directly in the eye and slowly saying \u201cIt\u2019s not a tunnel mate. It\u2019s a bloody hyperloop.\u201d And that politician mechanically reciting \u201cthese aren\u2019t the droids we\u2019re looking for,\u201d in response.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But it\u2019s all fun and games until the stakes turn nuclear.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is the self-same entrepreneur who\u2019s currently decided his <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/teslas-making-beer-now-thats-dangerous-marketing\">car manufacturing company should sell an alcoholic beverage<\/a>. This car company advertises its vehicles as self-driving when they are not. It\u2019s like he\u2019s intentionally trying to get his customers to do the stupidest things possible.<\/p>\n<p><span>Elon Musk, while holding a US government security clearance, got on TV with Joe Rogan and consumed a substance that\u2019s classified under US federal law as an illegal Schedule One drug alongside heroin and methamphetamine. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That substance was weed and he was in California where cannabis is legal for recreational consumption at the state level. But security clearances to work with NASA and the DoD are issued at the federal level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Following the rules is pretty important when your business is building nuclear reactors you intend to fire off into space with people sitting on top of them.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong> Who knows if SpaceX would even be considered for such an endeavor. Maybe it\u2019s a moot discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> But, then again, nobody saw the guy who invented PayPal becoming the richest person in the world and NASA\u2018s favorite tech bro. Either way, we need to be prepared for a reality where the US gives over control of a nuclear program to the guy who once accused someone of pedophilia over\u2026 checks notes\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/elon-musk-pedo-guy-doesnt-mean-pedophile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">disagreeing on the design of a hypothetical submarine<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>What could possibly go wrong?<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/nasa-wants-build-nuclear-space-craft-what-could-go-wrong\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA executives and experts struck an urgent tone with Congress earlier this week over discussions pertaining to the space agency\u2019s nuclear budget. Oh, I\u2019m sorry. Did I say NASA\u2018s nuclear budget? Surely&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8521"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}