MARS COLONY: Musk’s new rocket engine has the power to lift HUMAN STARSHIP to Mars

This unconventional design was intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs.

It was estimated that the nuclear propulsion system in the Project Orion rocket was strong enough to lift a 4,000-ton payload.

The designers envisaged an exit vehicle that was more like an ocean liner than the streamline, weight-conscious conventional rockets we see today.

The US government considered green-lighting the design, then backed down because of concerns over nuclear fallout.