Project Orion / Project Daedalus

Orionblamblam said:
??? Even the Tsar bomb is *many* orders of magnitude too weak to damage the planet in any material fashion.
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You are right, we don’t have (yet?) Death Star; but here the problem was the level of atmosphérique radioactivity at the beginning of 60s; hence the treaty of interdiction of nuclear explosions in the atmosphere. Ok after 10-20 years that level decreased to small (normal ?) levels.
 
And , for an Orion, functionning in the upper level of the atmosphere (above 60-80 km if launched by a S1C) what about electromagnetic pulse effects?
 
Pure fusion devices may need to come along.

Medusa/sail designs might allow a two-fer...expel tiny targets a laser detonates...detach the spacecraft "clip" with probe---sail unfolds more and the laser accelerates if fast after the bus is staged.

Killjoy
phys.org

Nukes in space: A bad idea in the 1960s, an even worse one now

The US and Japan are sponsoring a resolution for debate by the United Nations security council which—if passed—will reaffirm international commitments to the 1967 outer space treaty (OST) forbidding the deployment and use of nuclear weapons in space.
phys.org phys.org
 
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publiusr said:
Pure fusion devices may need to come along.
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You could certainly generate pretty ludicrous thrust that way, one interpretation of the Epstein Drive from the Expanse is as a pure-fusion magnetic sail Orion/Daedalus drive.
 
Folks, after watching Hazegrayart video too many times (Orion interstellar ark) I think the solution to lift Orion away from Earth is... a big cluster of Aerojet 260 inch SRBs. A four stages, all solid monster rocket. In the early days of Apollo was a concept for an all-solid Nova; imagine that with only 260 inch SRBs.
 
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No ground based fusion = no fusion spaceship. The irony being that good old Orion is perfectly workable. Atomic bombs pushing through a spring-mounted-steel-plate : primitive maybe, yet the one and only realistic starship drive presently on hand.
 
Vladimir_Alyosha said:
with our current knowledge ofo engineering, physics, and technology
is it possible to build ?
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The fuel of hydrogen isotopes was assumed to be mined from Jupiter's (or Saturn's) atmosphere as only the quantities necessary would be accessible there. A substantial industrial infrastructure stretching across the Solar System would therefore have to be in place - and Daedalus would be launched from Jupiter orbit, not Earth orbit.

The clip looks great though.
 
Archibald said:
No ground based fusion = no fusion spaceship. The irony being that good old Orion is perfectly workable. Atomic bombs pushing through a spring-mounted-steel-plate : primitive maybe, yet the one and only realistic starship drive presently on hand.
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I think the various fusion labs have demonstrated the basics, injecting a fusion fuel pellet to get lit by some lasers of sufficient size.

But that's still something at TRL 4-5 at best.
 
Vladimir_Alyosha said:
with our current knowledge ofo engineering, physics, and technology
is it possible to build ?
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In theory - yes, we have all required technology. On practice - it would require the development of tremendous amount of new solutions. And, frankly, Daedalus design is outdated. There are much more modern and compact projects - like "Firefly" or "Ghost ship" from "Icarus" interstellar probe project competition.
 
The craft only need be a dish with a cylinder to hold pellets.

A laser from the inner solar system hits the dish--the beam focused to a point where the fusion pellet is--and the dish acts as a pusher plate I suppose.
 
Forest Green said:
Not quite true since you don't need a positive net energy return, only propulsive force, for space propulsion use.
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And you can use relatively crude, pulsed fusion detonations instead of the more exotic Fusion thermal rockets.

You only need to recover enough energy to power the laser and pellet launcher in that case.
 
martinbayer said:
Please define *near future* quantitatively in terms of (at least approximate more or less educated guesses) calendar years.
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Fission nuke-thermals are at the "bench tested in actual conditions" TRL, so TRL-6. IIRC, there had been a plan to launch a NERVA in the late 1960s or early 1970s for orbital flight tests to bring it to TRL7 or 8.

So if the powers that be sign off on building some more, we could have them in less than a decade. Designs are complete, just need to build the stupid things.
 
PRL 9 goes to Leonid Kuchma

Married to the daughter of the Chief Engineering Officer at Yuzhmash—later Soviet Minister of Medium Machine Building.

I think he may have worked for Barmin or Utkin.

Poor Culberson…he was too nice:
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/9uw3u5/rep_john_culberson_the_biggest_proponent_of_the
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/9uw3u5/rep_john_culberson_the_biggest_proponent_of_the/


Kuchma—in his place—may have simply invited his opposition over for a nice bowl of soup.

PRL 10 goes to China’s Range Safety Officer:
tenor.com

Darkseid Superman GIF - Darkseid Superman Smile - Discover & Share GIFs

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