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Some time ago on another site, I suggested nuclear waste be launched into space and deposited into the orbit of the sun where it would be flash vaporized, only to be told it would be polluting space, by those who had no idea how much nuclear radiation was actually emitted by the sun. Someone suggested our waste be sent out into deep space, which I consider wrong. Space may be big, but what gives us the right to dump our trash on someone else? There is not enough radioactive materials on our little planet to compete with a single coronal mass ejection, so our comparatively small amount couldn't possibly pollute space.
This way we could drastically reduce our collection of spent nuclear fuel rods, thereby removing the impetus for using it in weapons. We do not need any more depleted uranium ammunition, so shipping the spent fuel rods into the sun would be a definite advantage. Warheads without detonators should also be included in the payload packages.
Things would be kept a simple as possible. A standard rocket would be used for orbital insertion and the payload vehicle would be kept simple as well. To maintain target track, it would have an infrared seeker head and to avoid collision with other objects in space (there are satellites orbiting the sun, as well as comets and other natural stuff as well) there would be a radar connected to a small navigational computer that would dictate collision avoidance.
