Re: Hang on... Nuclear
I think Orion's bijou problemette was the radiation that would rain down on mother earth with each launch. The Project calculated statistically that each launch would kill 2 people. Now that sounds bad but look how many folks (usually construction workers) die in major civil engineering projects. Still, a tough call to make and the atmospheric test ban treaty finally sealed the fate.
Put a Project Orion craft outside the magnetosphere and said radiation wouldn't be a problem. So we're back to needing a more benign method of getting into orbit. One-and-a-half 747's strapped together suddenly doesn't look that crazy.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
