Nuclear Propulsion

Nuclear propulsion was the focus of major research during the space race in the late Fifties and throughout the Sixties. The project was called Orion and the plan was to propel the lunar landers with small controlled nuclear explosions.

The basic theory was that small nuclear bombs would be ejected out the back of the craft and detonated at a "Safe Distance". The resulting nuclear pulse would hit a specially designed disk at the back of the craft which would reflect the energy and allow the ship to "ride the wave".

Some of the problems that needed to be overcome in the design were, radiation shielding for the astronauts and shock absorption beween the energy reflecting plate and the rest of the ship. This was so that the initial jolt would not shake the craft to pieces and the astronauts would not get cancer.

This would be a useful way to get rid of all those surplus nukes that the American military stockpiled. Unfortunately, the project was not as well funded as the Apollo Rocket program due to political variables and so, it fell behind. Also, a treaty was signed between the USSR and the USA in which both countries agreed not to detonate nuclear weapons in space. This, along with a fear of nuclear fallout back on earth, resulted in the demise of the Orion Program. Below is a diagram illustrating the aforementioned theory.

Image 1: The nuke is released

Image 2: The nuke is detonated

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