Whether big or small. We all have that one thing from Scifi we wished were real. I’d love to see a cool underground city with like a SkyDome or a space hotel for instance.
Whether big or small. We all have that one thing from Scifi we wished were real. I’d love to see a cool underground city with like a SkyDome or a space hotel for instance.
It’s a valid concern, but considering that quite a few rockets, to include some currently in use, can contain quite large amounts of some truly nasty chemicals already, and apparently can be made acceptably safe despite this, I’d bet that it’s probably possible to manage that risk or find flight paths that minimize exposure in the case of an accident. For that matter, we’ve launched radioactive materials into space before, some space probes use decay heat for a power source.
I remember the hand-wringing about Cassini prior to its launch. The probe survived launch from Earth fine, but Saturn got the materials in the end (I also remember people stating that we polluted Saturn without the Saturnian’s consent).
I believe several RTGs have been recovered from failed launches intact and without leakage, so I agree it can be done.