Why can’t we detonate nukes in space to dispose of them?

Question

I’m aware that it’s illegal to put any kind of weapon in space, for the sake of the explanation assume there’s no legal reason why not.

My Grug Smash brain has me wondering that if nuclear weapons are so difficult to properly dispose of, surely the easiest option would be to set them off somewhere where they can’t cause any damage.

In: Physics

Answer 1

Above all the technical objections, there’s the political difficulty of launching live fucking nuclear missiles.

“Oh, don’t worry about us, China and Russia! Don’t worry about us, Portland and San Francisco! We’re just disposing of armed nuclear warheads. In space. With missiles powerful enough to reach you. Ba-BOOM. But relax. Only sixteen thousand more launches left. What could go wrong?”