Joe Monk’s giant egg – and its big-bang-based engine – are actually inspired by the work of Project Orion, during which we considered using a series of nukes, dropped behind a heavy shield, to shove a ship across the solar system.
As far as I can tell it’s actually still the fastest method of getting around if we were willing to, you know, constantly be setting off nuclear explosions.
Here’s the 1-meter model in action. Yes, it’s pooping bombs.
