The New Dawn: The Orion Project Spaceship Revitalized

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

Spacecraft, Scifi, Engineering, Interstellar Travel, Civilizaiton, Space Station, Future, Future Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, Technological Future, Cybernetics, Human Civilizaiton, Sci Fi, Space Megastructures, Astronomy, Megastructures, Energy Abundance, Physics, Space, Space Infrastructure, Technology, Futurism, Genetics, Starship, Post Scarcity, Transhumanism, Long Term Future, Space Colonization, Spaceship, Future Of Humanity, Space Industry, Science

4.9 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2022

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Before we landed on the Moon, in the early days of the Cold War, Project Orion contemplated using Nuclear Bombs to power spaceships to new worlds and stars. More than half a century later, new technologies may see this concept reintroduced bigger, better, and safer. Could the most terrifying weapon of the 20th Century become the Great Hope of the 21st? Start Forging New Worlds: https://www.worldanvil.com/isaac-arthur Watch the Video Version: https://youtu.be/dB91TJHa-NY Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE Credits: The New Dawn: The Orion Project Spaceship Revitalized Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur Episode 324, January 6, 2022 Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur Script Contributors: Naemm England (Lead) A.T. Long Cass Graham Dr. America Evan Schultheis Gerhard Lyhne Joshua Kauffman Matthew Campbell Retro-visor Editors: A.T. Long Jason Burbank Jerry Guern Sig’Unnr Cover Art: Jakub Grygier https://www.artstation.com/jakub_grygier Graphics: Ian Long (LITE) Jarred Eagley Jeremy Jozwik https://www.artstation.com/zeuxis_of_losdiajana Sam McNAmara of Rapid Thrash Sergio Botero https://www.artstation.com/sboterod?fref=gc Udo Schroeter Music by: Markus Junnikkala, https://markusjunnikkala.com "Mobilize the Fleets" "We Roam the Stars" Stellardrone, https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com "The Earth is Blue" "A Moment of Stillness" Aerium, https://aeriumambient.bandcamp.com "Fifth Star of Aldebaran" Miguel Johnson, https://migueljohnson.bandcamp.com "Strange New World" See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, Big Alien Theory,
0:05.0	we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge. To hear
0:10.8	it and every episode early and add free, plus hours of bonus content, check out go.nebola.t.v.
0:16.4	and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:20.7	This episode is brought to you by World Anvil.
0:24.3	Here on SFIA, we like to say that if brute force isn't working, you are just not using enough.
0:31.3	If a spaceship prepared by detonating nuclear bombs doesn't count, I don't know what would.
0:36.5	I don't know what would. So welcome to 2020 and the start of our eighth season here on Science and Futurism
0:55.4	with Isaac Arthur, and I'm your host, Isaac Arthur.
0:59.3	I thought we should start the dawn of this new year by looking at the first spaceship
1:02.9	design that offered a realistic chance of sending a human colony to a new solar system alive
1:08.3	and intact.
1:09.8	That is Project Orion, initiated in the 1950s and
1:13.6	we will ask what upgrades and modifications modern technology might make Project Orion even better.
1:19.8	So we will be focused on essentially four things today. First, a brief explanation of how
1:24.6	Project Orion works, along with an equally brief tour of our history
1:28.1	of it and some of its sibling projects.
1:31.0	Second, how to scale it up to be bigger and more efficient.
1:34.3	Third, how to scale it way down to be cheaper and more viable to launch.
1:40.1	And fourth, some hybrid scenarios, like using atomic bombs to slur a ship at the destination,
1:45.5	but pushing beams or lasers to speed it up.
1:49.2	Now the entire Orion project revolves around a few pivotal concepts.
	...

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