Project Orion: The forgotten plan to launch spaceships using thousands of atomic bombs
In short: In the 1950s, American scientists seriously pursued a spacecraft design propelled by repeated nuclear detonations. This video explores the mechanics of Project Orion, a bold engineering concept that remains one of the few viable methods for deep space travel despite never leaving the ground.
Project Orion was a decade-long American initiative to build a massive interplanetary vessel, envisioned as a 10,000-ton, 100-metre-tall structure. The propulsion system relied on a series of atomic bomb blasts beneath the craft, which would lift the ship through the atmosphere and eventually beyond Earth's gravitational pull.
While the concept resembles 1950s science fiction, it was a legitimate engineering endeavor. Proponents argue that nuclear pulse propulsion is the only practical way to overcome the inherent limitations of conventional chemical rockets, potentially enabling travel throughout the solar system and into interstellar space.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Incredible Engineering: The Nuclear Powered Rocket
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