Word: aftergood
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Dates: during 1989-1989
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...Department of Energy contracted a study into the possible dangers of sending a nuclear reactor into orbit. Steven Aftergood, who heads the Committee to Bridge the Gap, a public interest group that concentrates on nuclear policy issues, knew that there was a joint DOE-SDI-NASA project to develop the SP-100, a space-based nuclear reactor. The SP-100 is in its final design stages, and a prototype is to be constructed in the next few years; deployment is tentatively scheduled for the mid- or late-1990s. Aftergood requested the DOE study through the Freedom of Information...
...AFTERGOOD naturally was curious about how likely the worst-case scenario was. He asked to see a different study, which would have answered his question but again was turned down. The DOE wrote back that release of this information "could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security." The DOE now has more detailed safety assessments, but these too are being withheld...
...Luckily, Aftergood isn't the only person concerned about these dangers. In May of last year, a joint Soviet-American committee of scientists presented a proposal calling for a ban on nuclear reactors in earth orbit. The committee included Roald Sagdeev, a close adviser to Gorbachev and the leader of the U.S.S.R.'s space program, and a group from the Federation of American Scientists...