My opinion is this this,
there are two nuclear battery's powering Voyager's 1 and 2 each. They were launched in 1977. They are still functioning and will be able to do so for another 40+ years on just battery power alone.
There are how many nuclear powered ships on the ocean? No issues with them! How many nuclear powered submarines in the sea? The couple that Russia has lost, there has yet to be this big explosion that was expected.
That technology is 40+ years old, it was something that we could and should be using today as a power source instead of looking at every other alternative power source.
We have have it. But, the oil industry will not have us using nuclear because it will cut into there bottom line. Not only that, the auto industry as well and coal. They will all point to Chernobyl and Fukushima and yell this is why nuclear isn't safe! Granted both were bad, Chernobyl, was a product communism at it's finest, it was a accident waiting to happen. Fukushima, was due to a tsunami, and there was nothing that could have prevented that.
But what I do know is this, if progress would have been allowed to continue the way I understand it was intended, these large plants wouldn't have been necessary. There would have been a small neighborhood "reactor" ,much like what a small ship would use, and a entire town would feed from that. Rural and remote areas would use the nuclear battery's like on voyager.
Doesn't really matter now though. But I do think it's a shame we aren't using something we already have and understand because ignorance gets in the way.
