Quote:
Originally Posted by wellspring
1)
2) Depends on the setting. The fission air ram of THS definitely has slightly radioactive exhaust. I think the same might go for fission, fusion and antimatter drives (including if they use ram-rockets). Enough that it would be a problem? Well, not for one ship, but if a planet has a fair amount of commerce then it might add up. It's also a psychological issue for people scared of radiation (which really is obviously very legit with an Orion) even when it's minor.
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The big block to all nuclear and antimatter drives seems to be with accidental explosions and crashes rather than exhaust (since quite a few designs can have repetitively benign exhaust). I think you would need to have massive global political change to remove this.