The pulse detonation model was initially proposed by those good ol' boys back in the fifties (Project Orion, see below for link) as a cheap means to reach space. It was proposed that a shell of heavy metal be built and nukes would be released beneath it to get a ship to orbit. This was quashed by the first nuclear proliferation treaties. It is sad that it was quashed, however, as it would have provided the most efficient space travel in history. The problem with the current models of PD is that you can't use gyro's to stabilize a vertically moving PD vehicle in a gravity well as influential as that of Earth's. Also, it is a supersonic jet, above and beyond what the Xraces are looking for, same as NASA's Hyper-X (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4115156.stm).
The link for Orion is:
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/O/OrionP roj.html
The problem with rockets is, you can't really get a small leap in energy efficiency and speed from chemical reactions without something as efficient and controllable as matter/antimatter reactions. Anything that currently lends more efficiency also requires further speed, and that means it would probably not fit on the course. Imagine NASA's Mach 7 - 10 craft trying to maneuver in a course as small as one mile long, it would need a course roughly the size of the state of New Mexico. Keep in mind, this is to explore new technologies, and enhance known ones...so who knows?
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The pulse detonation model was initially proposed by those good ol' boys back in the fifties (Project Orion, see below for link) as a cheap means to reach space. It was proposed that a shell of heavy metal be built and nukes would be released beneath it to get a ship to orbit. This was quashed by the first nuclear proliferation treaties. It is sad that it was quashed, however, as it would have provided the most efficient space travel in history. The problem with the current models of PD is that you can't use gyro's to stabilize a vertically moving PD vehicle in a gravity well as influential as that of Earth's. Also, it is a supersonic jet, above and beyond what the Xraces are looking for, same as NASA's Hyper-X (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4115156.stm).
The link for Orion is:
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/O/OrionP roj.html
The problem with rockets is, you can't really get a small leap in energy efficiency and speed from chemical reactions without something as efficient and controllable as matter/antimatter reactions. Anything that currently lends more efficiency also requires further speed, and that means it would probably not fit on the course. Imagine NASA's Mach 7 - 10 craft trying to maneuver in a course as small as one mile long, it would need a course roughly the size of the state of New Mexico. Keep in mind, this is to explore new technologies, and enhance known ones...so who knows?