Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Right now, our fastest rockets are basically slow boats in cosmic terms. Chemical rockets like Saturn V rely on burning fuel and oxidiser, which sets a limit on how fast they can ultimately go.
But what if we swapped controlled combustion for nuclear explosions?
That was the idea behind the 1950s US aerospace project Orion. It explored the idea of spacecraft propelled by nuclear pulses, riding shockwaves through a massive pusher plate.
Here’s the story of how far Orion could potentially take us, and why we’ve never built it.
Right now, our fastest rockets are basically slow boats in cosmic terms. Chemical rockets like Saturn V rely on burning fuel and oxidiser, which sets a limit on how fast they can ultimately go.
But what if we swapped controlled combustion for nuclear explosions?
That was the idea behind the 1950s US aerospace project Orion. It explored the idea of spacecraft propelled by nuclear pulses, riding shockwaves through a massive pusher plate.
Here’s the story of how far Orion could potentially take us, and why we’ve never built it.
