For Roleplayers: How do you dispose of the LV-N engines?

[Ravenchant]

I...actually haven't used NERVAs at all yet. Except for some test runs that got reverted to VAB I guess they will mostly be on interplanetary tugs and thus reusable. It reusing isn't an option- I'll probably find a dedicated Mun crater and crash land them there.

[goldenpeach]

I use the crash and burn option: for small interplanetary probes I usually crash them on the planet I want to land but for my manned Duna spaceship I crash them in Kerbin atmosphere; I hope Kerbals has a plan to deal with air contamination by nuclear material!

[katateochi]

I try to re-purpose sections that have LV-Ns so where possible I park them in orbit. I'm trying to use more unified tug sections for transfers so those get left in orbit and reused. Otherwise I tend to casually throw them at a moon and hope that no one notices.

edit - this doesn't include LV-N's used on SSTO aircraft, those come back down and land at KSC and I just create a small SEP field around them.

Edited January 20, 2014 by katateochi

[Starwaster]

Mine stay in service indefinitely barring accident.

The only thing that might affect that is Real Fuels because LVN actually have nuclearFuel resource that gradually turns into nuclearWaste. When there's no more nuclearFuel then the rocket will not produce thrust nor electricity. (LVN is bimodal in Real Fuels)

However, I haven't got to actually PLAY very much lately because most of my time in KSP has been trying out new parts for a parts pack

So I haven't got to play a game long enough where my nuclear engines might actually exhaust their supply of fuel.

[Agent86]

I deorbit them onto the other space center's runway. Now it's their problem.

[Major "zubb" Tom]

The last time I "disposed" of nukes was when I Attatched them to the smelter from kethane mod and using landing gear drove it to the sea next to the spaceplane runway.

I hooked it up to the rest of my random parked cars I meen base.

I fired a cruise missle from that base at my freind's debri feild I meen base.

[Jouni]

I mostly use nuclear engines in large interplanetary ships and long distance transfer modules for spaceplanes. After a mission, they are refueled for the next time they are needed.

On the other hand, my main refueling base is orbiting Minmus. The tankers transporting fuel there use nuclear engines for efficiency reasons. After they have delivered their cargo, the tankers burn the fuel in their reserve tanks to crash into Minmus. Usually nothing survives the crash, and the resulting radioactive clouds are just a drop in the ocean.

[RocketPilot573]

How to I dispose those LV-Ns?

-Crash in Kerbin ocean

-Crash into KSC

-Crash into Kerbin's land

-Crash into Laythe's Ocean

[Adent]

I try to dispose on the nukes by deorbiting them into the sun. I figure its as good as place as any.

[Umlüx]

i crash them onto kerbin. why do you think kerbals are green?

[jwenting]

I just dump them in the oceans. Done some RL research on the effects of dumping nuclear waste in deep oceans, and the effects are so miniscule as to be below detection treshold.

Not that I use many, and most I do use end up either in orbit around various planets and moons or soft landed (if the landing works...) on them.

[Klingon Admiral]

I just dump them in the oceans. Done some RL research on the effects of dumping nuclear waste in deep oceans, and the effects are so miniscule as to be below detection treshold.

Not that I use many, and most I do use end up either in orbit around various planets and moons or soft landed (if the landing works...) on them.

Like xkcd said, if you go swimming in a pool with spent radioactive fuel, your most likely cause of death will be bullet-wounds, because you went swimming in a pool for spent nuclear fuel.

[ComradeGoat]

I understand not wanting to dump spare nukes on Kerbin, but I don't see the problem with disposing of them anywhere else. I feel like the danger of nukes is greatly overstated, especially with Kerbals' natural radiation resistance (being able to survive in unshielded capsules in Jool orbit and on Laythe and such).

Quite. I try to keep nuke powered ships around, but I'm not averse to deorbiting the odd one into the oceans of Laythe.

[Tw1]

I rarely dispose of them these days. If I do land them, they tend to be in a re-usable, or at least recyclable state.

[Alistone]

Given the higher radiation levels outside the atmosphere/magnetic field I don't see any real reason it would be dangerous to crash them into any non-atmosphere body.

But I usually use them for the return trip...

[Boris_T_Roach]

Given how heavy they are and how much Dv it costs to get the blasted things into orbit, My interplanetary ships get aero braked on return to kerbin, the crew section parachutes down to the surface, and the drive unit waits in orbit for a new crew lander/rovers/single shot probes, new throwaway fuel tanks to be docked to it, and it gets re fueled by stealing fuel from the tugs bringing the new stuff up.

Or just crashed into Kerbin at high speed when I miss read the PE on mechjeb at -32km as + 32km

[Anton P. Nym]

I re-use LV-Ns as much as possible; they're heavy and expensive!

If I do end up with a nuclear-powered craft unable to return for re-use, I either crash them on an airless moon or I put them in an out-of-the-way orbit (heliocentric if posible) to let them "cool off" well away from any future missions.

-- Steve

[Decho]

I only use LV-Ns on non-disposable ships, and when they reach end of life they're left in graveyard orbits.

[Xorth Tanovar]

I have a slowly accumulating set of old nukes decomposing on the far side of the Mun.

I've started recovering them to Kerbin occasionally, but surely there is no way anything could go wrong with the Mun, right?

...right?

It all depends if "Contingency Plan Exodus" is able to be implemented.

[SargeRho]

Situation-dependent. When returning to Kerbin, I usually park them in orbit, same for Laythe. Everywhere else I just dump them, usually into an interplanetary orbit.

[SkyRender]

Any LV-N that isn't going to be in constant active use gets safely returned to Kerbin. Blutonium's not cheap, you know!

[NeoMorph]

If I don't recover them, I use the Mun as a dumping ground.

Why do I have this image of Space 1999 but with Kerbals going through my head?

Edit: DOH! Xorth beat me to it lol

[Geschosskopf]

I don't consider the radiation from LV-Ns to be a big deal. The NERVA project worried failures so built the things not to make much of a mess. So I just treat them like any other engines and crash-and-burn them whenever needed.

Same goes with the RTGs that power everything I fly.

[sanoj688]

I deorbit them onto the other space center's runway. Now it's their problem.

.

lol

[Wahgineer]

You have design issues if your ships dump nukes during travel. It is much cheaper, easier, and more logical to design a ship to be used again and again. On the other hand, considering Eve is a hot wasteland with oceans made of mercury and blutonium, I highly doubt that few damaged LV-Ns would matter.