Humans can be more kerbal then kerbals themself...

[Tom K.]

I just saw this video of Scott manley about a rocket that runs on ... nuclear bombs and human scientists were actually thinking about making this thing!

Finally a good use for all those warheads scattered around the world...

Edited June 20, 2013 by Tom K.

[Canopus]

Its not that strange.

[SoldierHair]

If that thing would be in the launch stage it would make a huge hole in the launchpad.Actually , i think there would be no launchpad after that.

[joppiesaus]

Its not that strange.

Explosions that light up whole Kerbin!

[Canopus]

If that thing would be in the launch stage it would make a huge hole in the launchpad.Actually , i think there would be no launchpad after that.

The bombs are not that powerful and materials can withstand that.

[Canopus]

Explosions that light up whole Kerbin!

KSP Graphics.

[Akalaël]

The Orion project is quite old indeed.

I don't recall the exact numbers but I recall that the ISP of this monster was AWSOME !

Just something to get to the other stars !

[malkuth]

It really is not that strange.. If you could get something like this in space (normal way without the nukes) then the propulsion system would be about the most fastest system we would have. We could literally travel to anywhere in our own solar system without much trouble.

[Ralathon]

It's no more crazy than the things we use now. We place delicate machinery on top of a large continuous explosion so we can shoot it at a target millions of kilometers away with insane speeds... And this is the least crazy way we've come up with to go into space. Other ideas include giant rotating grappling hooks in low earth orbit and maglev trains that are held outside the atmosphere by the centripetal force of a giant spinning iron ribbon in the tracks.

A machine powered by nuclear bombs is just a small step from what we do now.

[WarWyvern]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an astrophysicist, but I'm still not entirely clear on how this engine is supposed to function with such incredible returns. From what I can tell, it relies on the concussive pressure of the explosion against the plate, but I also understand that space is a vacuum that shouldn't carry any concussion (such as sound). I guess that a small portion of the energy released, along with some pieces of the bomb itself, might return to impact the plate and help push the craft along, but it still seems a bit inefficient.

If anyone has some insight on this, I would like to learn about how this (incredibly Kerbal contraption) could work.

[Canopus]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an astrophysicist, but I'm still not entirely clear on how this engine is supposed to function with such incredible returns. From what I can tell, it relies on the concussive pressure of the explosion against the plate, but I also understand that space is a vacuum that shouldn't carry any concussion (such as sound). I guess that a small portion of the energy released, along with some pieces of the bomb itself, might return to impact the plate and help push the craft along, but it still seems a bit inefficient.

If anyone has some insight on this, I would like to learn about how this (incredibly Kerbal contraption) could work.

The Bomb is actually a shaped charge and looks like this:

Its shaped like the Nozzle of a rocket engine in order to Concentrate its energy in one direction and blasts the tungsten against the pusher plate

But just read the Mod creators own site: http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/enginelist.php#id--Pulse--Orion

[CoriW]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an astrophysicist, but I'm still not entirely clear on how this engine is supposed to function with such incredible returns. From what I can tell, it relies on the concussive pressure of the explosion against the plate, but I also understand that space is a vacuum that shouldn't carry any concussion (such as sound). I guess that a small portion of the energy released, along with some pieces of the bomb itself, might return to impact the plate and help push the craft along, but it still seems a bit inefficient.

If anyone has some insight on this, I would like to learn about how this (incredibly Kerbal contraption) could work.

I've not done any research on it myself, but I have heard a lot about the nuclear pulse engine from people who have done much research on it. I'm not sure what the ISP is, but I do know why it works in space.

I probably won't get this 100% accurate, but it's not the shock wave that pushes on the pusher plate since as you mentioned a vacuum can't carry any concussion. What is actually happening is the nuclear explosion creates a sort of plasma wave, this wave is then directed towards the pusher plate, causing it to get pushed on.

Like I said I don't know all the details but the point is that the people who do know the details and have done all the math have supposedly figured out that it will indeed work, and on top of that using this method could supposedly get people to our nearest neighboring star in a human lifetime.

[WarWyvern]

...Like I said I don't know all the details but the point is that the people who do know the details and have done all the math have supposedly figured out that it will indeed work, and on top of that using this method could supposedly get people to our nearest neighboring star in a human lifetime.

...Its shaped like the Nozzle of a rocket engine in order to Concentrate its energy in one direction and blasts the tungsten against the pusher plate...

Thanks for the replies! So it does rely on throwing a portion of the radiation of the explosion and mass of the bomb back against the pusher plate to propel the craft. I don't know if I'm entirely sold on the idea, as it still seems a bit ridiculous (now more from an engineering viewpoint than a physical one), but it's at least a fun idea for a mod.

Edit: And thanks for all the replies after this post. I even got a documentary out of it that almost makes the Orion Project look practical. I'll have to remember to ask more physics-related questions here in the future.

Edited June 20, 2013 by WarWyvern

[Brofessional]

There's a nice documentary about Project Orion here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4k_YZAXSEI

Brief clip of the proof-of-concept prototype flying if you don't want to watch the whole thing here:

[el_coyoto]

The Orion Project is a real study and relied on "Nuclear shaped charges" which sound really fun (and highly confidential because of their destructive power).

Note that the usual solution to the "not-blowing-the-launchpad-on-take-off" is the use of ... solid boosters. So Kerbaly!

More data on Orion :

• 
  

http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/enginelist.php#id--Pulse--Orion
http://astrorhysy.blogspot.fr/2010/09/project-orion-how-to-nuke-spaceship.html

This site has many pictures of a fictional space cold war featuring the "Orion Battleship" : http://www.rhysy.net/OrionGallery/

Cheers!

EDIT : Canopus was faster than me on this one lol.

Edited June 20, 2013 by el_coyoto
typo

[jwenting]

The idea is that the plasma (thus the evaporated bomb body itself) drives up against the pusher plate. In atmosphere, the air turned into plasma by the explosion adds a little bonus to that.

[sgt_flyer]

basically, the 'plate' is something akin to a bell nozzle, so all the bomb's released energy is directed to the rear of the rocket. Nuclear bombs yields some of the highest man made temperatures (we might have done higher temps, but only in laboratories ), so the atoms which made the bomb are projected out of the rocket at a really fast speed, which gives it it's incredible ISP. (the higher the working temperature of your rocket, the better the ISP - because chemicals / atoms expand faster for the same quantity)

[The Error]

Anyone here ever read Footfall?

Archangel Michael, anyone?

[Kuldan]

That was a very nice read.