From: smithm@SPAMBLOCKnetapps.com.au.retro.com   
      
   On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 20:04:20 +1100   
   Malcolm Street  wrote:   
      
   > I'm a great fan of Stephen Baxter, but his novel "Voyage" really   
   > doesn't do the NERVA nuclear-thermal rocket program justice; it was   
   > both saner and more successful than he makes out.   
      
   So am I. IMHO the books he has written which explore the current or near   
   future space program have a more realistic idea of what is possible than   
   just about anything I have read. Yes the bit in Voyage about the Nerva   
   did somewhat put me off the idea.   
      
   | Of course the problem was that bits of engine   
   | got spat out the back as well, but it was acceptable by '60's   
   | standards. Of course you'd have to be more careful now.   
      
   The real problem is that it is a partly open loop system. No other   
   nuclear power system routinely exhausts significant quantities of   
   radioactive material. I agree that a modern system would have to be more   
   careful but I think this would take the design back to the drawing   
   board.   
   --   
   Michael Smith   
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