AAWSAP DIRD, Advanced Nuclear Propulsion for Manned Deep Space Missions, March 2010

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because He3 is not abundantly available everywhere, it was proposed to
"mine" it from Jupiter's atmosphere.
Studies have been conducted on spacecraft propulsion with the matter­
antimatter annihilation reaction, however, it is an enormous technical
challenge to produce antimatter in appreciable quantities. The idea of using
nano-gram amounts of antimatter for the ignition of fission-fusion
microexplosions appears to have credible potential, but even there the
production and storage of nano-gram quantities of antimatter pose serious
technical problems (Reference 4).
We have little reason to expect that new fundamental laws of physics that
could lead to a breakthrough in propulsion still await discovery. Very much as
America was discovered only once, it is quite possible that all the fundamental
laws of physics relevant to propulsion have been discovered, challenging our
imagination to find out if they are sufficient to invent propulsion systems that
ultimately might bring us to Earthlike planets of nearby solar systems.
I conclude this preface with an imaginary talk by Ted Taylor to Freeman Dyson
as recorded by the latter's son, George Dyson, in his book Project Orion - The
True Story of the Atomic Spaceship (Reference 5), followed by a dream of Ted
Taylor's. "Freeman's hope for the Orion had rested on the fact that there
seems to be no law of nature forbidding the construction of fission-free
bombs," and on the belief that "improvements in the design of the nuclear
devices (by reducing the fraction of total yield due to fission) might achieve
reduction factors of 102 to 103 • This belief in small, fission-free bombs has
largely evaporated." "One exception is Ted (Taylor). He remains convinced
that small, clean bombs could propel Orion - but he still fears more than ever
that such devices would be irresistible as weapons, until we outgrow the habit
of war. There are lots of different routes to that final result of a very clean
bomb." "Could you make a one-kiloton explosion in which the fission yield was
zero, which is bad news on the proliferation front, but could turn Orion into
something quite clean?" "Freeman thinks Ted is wrong - and Ted hopes
Freeman is right." I for my part think Freeman is wrong.
Many years later, shortly before his death, Ted Taylor reported: "I had a dream
last night, about a new form of nuclear weapon, and I am really scared of it."
He reported that when he woke up, he wrote down his dream, and it appeared
scientifically sound and feasible. What was it? We never will know with
certainty, but I have a guess: it is the possibility of chemical superexplosives
(explained in the appendix) powerful enough to ignite a thermonuclear bomb.
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