Orion Test Vehicle

The original test article for Project Orion had a total mass of 133 kg including its bullet-shaped outer shell.

Six charges, each with 1.04 kg of C4 high explosive, were ejected from the rear of the pusher plate and exploded 866 mm behind the plate. An initial charge of 452 kg of gunpowder in a mortar-like launch cylinder got the craft going. The original article was too heavy to accelerate after running out of momentum from the original charge.

Manufacturer: General Atomic. Total Mass: 133 kg (293 lb). Core Diameter: 1.00 m (3.20 ft). Total Length: 1.20 m (3.90 ft).

• Brower, Kenneth, The Starship and the Canoe, Bantam, 1979. ISBN: 0030391962. A meditation on the values and lives of Frederick Dyson, weapons scientist, father of the Orion nuclear pulse starship, and his son, who lives in the Pacific Northwest forest and builds canoes. More at amazon.com...