 FACT: The "Orion" propulsion system of the spacecraft "Messiah"  refers to a 1960s government project first proposed in 1947. In this  conceived system, nuclear bombs would be detonated under a massive  steel plate, possibly coated with graphite. The jolts to the  spacecraft riding on top would be minimized with the use of giant  shock absorbers. This would have been far more interesting to  portray than the standard "glow at the back" movie propulsion  system.