Nuclear pulse propulsion

Nuclear pulse propulsion or external pulsed plasma propulsion is a hypothetical method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust.^[1] It originated as Project Orion with support from DARPA, after a suggestion by Stanislaw Ulam in 1947.^[2] Newer designs using inertial confinement fusion have been the baseline for most later designs, including Project Daedalus and Project Longshot.