Project Orion [nuclear propulsion] (1958)Project Orion was a study of a spacecraft intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs behind the craft (Nuclear pulse propulsion).
Early versions of this vehicle were proposed to have taken off from the ground with significant associated nuclear fallout; later versions were presented for use only in space.
Nuclear Propulsion in Space (1968)Project NERVA was an acronym for Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application, a joint program of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and NASA managed by the Space Nuclear Propulsion Office (SNPO) at the Nuclear Rocket Development Station in Jackass Flats, Nevada U.S.A.
Between 1959 and 1972, the Space Nuclear Propulsion Office oversaw 23 reactor tests,
both the program and the office ended at the end of 1972.
