From: "Steve Ewing" 

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 19:37:35 -0500, Geo  wrote:

> I'm not against the space station or developing new engines to move us
> out into space.

This month's Discover mag has an article about the old "nuclear bomb
drive".  I had heard of it, of course, and thought it certainly
feasible, but upon reading the article realized for the first time that
they had intended to take off from Earth!!  I had imagined a
construction-in-space deal, but they were proposing to raise this 10,000
ton behemoth to space using "little" atom bombs:

http://www.discover.com/issues/feb-05/features/grandest-rocket-ever/
===
Propulsion would come from nuclear detonations at half-second intervals,
the yield increasing as the atmosphere decreased. The first 200 explosions,
providing a combined yield equivalent to 100,000 tons of TNT, would lift
the ship from sea level to 125,000 feet. Each additional kick would add
about 20 miles per hour to the shipƒ ™s velocity. After 600 more
explosions, the ship would be lofted into a 300-mile orbit around Earth.
===

--
Steve 
http://www.qmss.com/sewing

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5