Project Orion | Universe Today

Written by Tega Jessa

Project Orion was an ambitious idea to build a space ship powered by exploding nuclear bombs as a method of propulsion. The idea for Project Orion was developed in the 1940s, but it never went past the idea stage. The idea used a nuclear pulse design, where thermonuclear bombs would be detonated behind the spacecraft, causing a shock wave. The Orion would ride each shock wave to reach its final acceleration.

The potential performance of the nuclear drive was extraordinary compared to traditional chemical rockets. A ship could get to Pluto within a year. The design could easily carry a payload of 4,000 tons into orbit and beyond. The performance capabilities of the craft was so amazing that there were plans for a human mission to Mars by 1967 and to Saturn by 1975.

So how did this potentially amazing craft get scrapped? Well it was definitely not due to the design. Surprisingly, the team that designed Orion was able to find solutions to engineer challenges to detonating nuclear bombs behind a spaceship. The force of the nuclear shock waves would be absorbed with pressure plates. Exhaust materials would use plastic, which would easily break to down into hydrogen and other light atoms. The biggest worry: the erosion of the pressure plates by the heat of the nuclear explosion; it was to found to be surprisingly small if not treated and nonexistent if the plates were treated with oil. Even the excessive G forces placed on human passengers were solved with absorption designs.

The project was canceled because of the controversial nature of nuclear technology at the time. The Cold War was in full swing and many nations feared an arms race that could eventually lead to a nuclear war. With the Nuclear Test Ban signed in the late sixties the project was doomed. Since the ban forbade all types of above ground detonations the project was ended. The U.S. tried to get an exception for the project but the Soviets feared the military applications that the project could inspire. Also there were still concerns about nuclear fallout especially since the original design had the ship being launched from the ground.

The project has now become one of those interesting "what ifs" in the annals of spaceflight. Interestingly enough, we still haven't found a better design for a space drive that could outperform Orion. This may mean that Orion may come back. However, by the time they do revive discussion about the project a new technology may come out that can outperform it.

If you enjoyed this article you will enjoy other related articles on Universe Today. Learn more about nuclear space drives in the the Nuclear Propulsion article. You also will want to read the article about how long it would take to reach the nearest star.

There are also interesting resources on the web if you want to know more. Oriondrive.com has a lot of information about the project. You can also check an interesting book review at Amazon.

If you want to learn more you can listen to Astronomy Cast Episode 101 Advanced Propulsion systems.

Filed under: Astronomy