Project Orion - Nuclear Powered Space Travel

The idea that man could fly to Pluto and returnsingle day. Until man becomes fascinated with the
within a year is not just an idea, but fact. Projectidea of stepping foot on other planets, the project
Orion is the high performance method of spacewill never be. Perhaps in the future, man will be
flight, making speeds as fast as 10% the speedinterested in walking on Pluto, and Mars. Until then,
of light possible for manned missions. Harnessingthey will remain tiny dots in the night sky, forever
the power of nuclear blasts to provide propulsionwaiting our arrival.
for massive space craft would make our solarLife has the amazing ability to survive in any
system a much smaller place, with unmannedsituation you place it in. Man, being the tool user,
missions capable of achieving a theorized 50-80%could build a habitable base on every planet,
the speed of light.requiring only single trips to transport all his
Project Orion never came to be, unfortunately, asmaterials. When our planet is ravaged by global
lifting an Orion spaceship off the ground into lowwarming and famine, we'll have nowhere to go
level orbit would require 300 nuclear blasts,but skyward. Project Orion will be our last great
beginning at ground level and working their wayhope for survival when our home can no longer
up to 300 miles high. The partial nuclear test bansupport us. Maybe this won't occur for thousands
treaty of the 1960's ruined any chance Projectof years, maybe we'll be long extinct by that
Orion ever had of taking off. A few signatures,time. The fact of the matter is this: One day, we
some hand shakes and some smiles for thewill inhabit more than one planet, and Project
camera's put an end to mans ability to travelOrion will make it happen.
hundreds of millions of miles through space in a