MIT Professor Areg Danagoulian is proposing a way to determine if a satellite orbiting Earth contains a nuclear weapon. He describes his idea for a satellite-based sensor system that could orbit close by a suspect satellite and detect neutrons generated by high-energy protons colliding with radioactive material.
  • sunnie@slrpnk.netEnglish
    6·
    2 days ago

    RTGs aren’t used for power in earth orbit, because of the danger of releasing the radioactive contents on deorbit and because there’s enough sunlight here to make solar a much better option (lighter, cheaper).

    RTGs are mostly used for the outer solar system where the sun is too dim to be useful.

    • Doomsider@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      “The world’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite, the BOHR CubeSat, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on July 7, 2026.”

      I think this one used a betavoltaic battery which may be safer but I haven’t spent a lot of time researching it.