Project Orion: the spacegoing battleship

[Orionblamblam]

Ta-da....  http://www.up-ship.com/eAPR/ev2n2.htm

[Orionblamblam]

This model was created in CAD and is to be stereolithed and made available as a kit by Fantastic Plastic in early 2010.

Some info on it:
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=3276
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=3261
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=3251
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=3237
http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=3216

[KJ_Lesnick]

One of the Orion's had a doomsday warhead of 1,600 tons? 

If I recall correctly, the most efficient nuclear warhead we ever produced was the Mk.41, which produced 5.2 or 5.6 megatons per ton, and in 1963 it was stated that we could have produced a 35 megaton warhead mountable on a Titan II (3700 kg), 50-70 megatons for the payload used on a B-52 (10,000 lbs).  With figures like that you're talking about 8.5 megatons/ton for a Titan warhead or 5-7 megatons/ton for the heavier warheads.

That's a yield of 8 - 13.6 gigatons...

[SleeperService]

One of the Orion's had a doomsday warhead of 1,600 tons? 

If I recall correctly, the most efficient nuclear warhead we ever produced was the Mk.41, which produced 5.2 or 5.6 megatons per ton, and in 1963 it was stated that we could have produced a 35 megaton warhead mountable on a Titan II (3700 kg), 50-70 megatons for the payload used on a B-52 (10,000 lbs).  With figures like that you're talking about 8.5 megatons/ton for a Titan warhead or 5-7 megatons/ton for the heavier warheads.

That's a yield of 8 - 13.6 gigatons...

Most of that would be wasted (Thankfully) as 100megatons would blast clean through the atmosphere any extra would mostly take the line of least resistance and follow it. On the other hand seeding 1600 tons of radioactive Cobalt or strontium into the atmosphere would be rather final.