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From: dietz@SLB-DOLL.CSNET (Paul Dietz)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: REAL Star Wars...
Message-ID: <8512021425.AA16632@s1-b.arpa>
Date: Mon, 2-Dec-85 08:08:00 EST
Article-I.D.: s1-b.8512021425.AA16632
Posted: Mon Dec  2 08:08:00 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 3-Dec-85 08:05:51 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 8

>> ...Orion's justification was as a space battleship...
>No, its original justification was as a heavy launch vehicle, and a
>spaceship capable of exploring the whole solar system quickly and cheaply.

Quite right.  DOD took over only after the civilians decided to go
with chemical propellants (I just reread the relevant chapter of
Dyson's book).  What really killed Orion, I suspect, is the fallout
problem.