Project Pluto: The Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile

Leave a little sprinkle of nuclear radiation wherever you go ✨✨ ✨
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[@SephirothRyu]

According to some sources, the final design would NOT impact itself after dropping its bombs, but would instead just fly around the terrain until its fuel ran out or until something made it crash, all the while spewing out radioactive material from its reactor. Making this final proposed design basically a "Revenge Weapon" that would not only nuke cities, but would then spend its remaining lifespan just contaminating as much of the enemy region as possible.

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

I could see it doing that up until it was almost out of power, at which point it would proceed to it’s final target.

[@ebikeengineer]

This has always been my favorite Cold War era weapon project. It's just so over the top you gotta love it, as it sounds like something from a Bond movie.

[@GleichUmDieEcke]

If you think that's nuts, check out the Casaba Howitzer.

[@ebikeengineer]

@@GleichUmDieEcke yeah it's neat, but it's not drop a half dozen nukes, fly around the target country to irradiating everything, then a final nuclear suicide crash.

[@GleichUmDieEcke]

@@ebikeengineer I hadn't actually heard that they'd planned to crash it as a final nuke. The version I heard was that they'd just have it loiter in the area, going mach 3 at treetop level, killing things immediately with the sonic booms, and spewing radiation from the unshielded reactor core until eventually the control surfaces or structure failed and it finally crashed, creating a smaller meltdown explosion that would contaminate the target area for decades to come.

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

He forgot the utter chaos that thing would create flying supersonic on low altitude. People in the ground would die of the chockwave and then they would die a little more being deadly poisoned by its nuclear wake....

[@lilyeves892]

@@GleichUmDieEcke I was wondering that myself, the info I'd been told is that this thing could achieve anything insane like mach 6 so it'd be almost impossible to intercept

[@HikaruKatayamma]

🙄 Simon starts describing a fission reactor and then shows a fusion reactor animation. (I need a facepalm emoji)

[@Wallyworld30]

To be fair Simon isn't the editor.

[@Bobajobimus]

Glad i'm not the only one disappointed by the tokamak image

[@Markle2k]

I'm pretty sure the scientist at the chalk board wasn't talking about anything directly related to nuclear power either.

[@kencarlile1212]

It seems to happen fairly frequently. It's a cool looking animation, I suppose...

[@TheBlueB0mber]

Thank you. I was afraid no one else had noticed. You have restored my faith in humanity🙏

[@sandy.redding]

I remember reading about this decades ago. It was an article in Smithonian's Air & Space. In the article, it said that some involved in the project believed that the shockwave alone from this thing traveling at such high speeds could kill people.

[@kcollier2192]

"Our story begins in the late 1950's." So this is the point where the Fallout PC/video game universe starts.

[@shaunoleary9774]

Remember kids: dreams can come true. I've been requesting a video on this for a while. Keep posting requests, you never know if your favorite doomsday weapon will someday be featured.

[@slcpunk2740]

Yeah I was waiting for this one but he didn't give the SLAM nickname - Slow Low And Messy

[@terryarmbruster9719]

Wow! So Santa and the Easter Bunny are real after all. Cooooooooooool 💯😎👍

[@shaunoleary9774]

@@terryarmbruster9719 this is how you spend your time?

[@shaunoleary9774]

@@slcpunk2740 mach 3 is slow? At 200 to 300 meters above ground level?

[@terryarmbruster9719]

@@shaunoleary9774 lol so dreams don't come true?

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

Military: Range of 113,000+ miles Flat Earth Military: We can fly circles around our enemies before we smite them with great vengeance and furious anger! 😆

[@GuntherRommel]

I'd honestly and truly like to see a Sideprojects on your KZbin career/development of your channels. Kind of a retrospective over the.. what? Decade you've been on KZbin? You have a pile of channels and are honestly interesting.

[@BrandonSchleifer]

That would probably be on the Megaprojects channel

[@Chef_PC]

@@BrandonSchleifer Epic Blaze.

[@sandybarnes887]

Search for Simon Whistler interview. It's over an hour long

[@electricvisual92]

Hahaha funny you say this...I didn't read yours, and ANYONES comment for that matter before I JUST posted my comment ...but I said essentially the same thing; just in a far more busting his balls manner/Business Blaze channel Simon rant😂🤣😂 Said, he should do an episode on "How Fact Boi (aka Simon) became SUCH a knob) lolz 💀 Teasing of course cuz I LOVE all his channels countet and have seen almost allllll of it from each of his channels in the past several years. but I'd be interested in that and we CANT be the only ones

[@electricvisual92]

@@BrandonSchleifer hahaha BRUV...stop, just stop 😂😂 that's a good one tho, he definitely SHOULD do that...on like Christmas, his birthday, or like April Fool's Day next year

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

the writer of this script seems to be under the impression that gamma radiation is the only harmful nuclear radiation. it is not, it isn't even the most important one, certainly not when you're talking about these flying chernobyl open reactor nuclear jet engines as opposed to a radiation-shielded nuclear powerplant.

[@shannonballspen1s482]

Theres also cootie radiation. Thats the worst

[@The415Joe]

Simon: No one was thinking about messing around with nuclear power Me: *glancing around nervously* 🤯

[@procatprocat9647]

Based on your admission of guilt, I've just reported you. (no, not really)

[@PrivateSi]

www.cnbc.com/2021/04/12/darpa-nuclear-spacecraft-lockheed-bezos-blue-origin-general-atomics.html

[@exidy-yt]

@@PrivateSi About damn time! Spaceflight is exactly where nuclear engines are going to shine. Chemical fuels have about reached their limits for rocket propulsion. The future is nuclear, electric or laser propulsion.

[@PrivateSi]

@@exidy-yt .. Personally, I think The Future needs to be a lot more realistic and down to Earth.. The amount wasted on getting junk air born is staggering.. Deep space astronomy is practically useless too, although far less destructive than the race to rule the skies. - If the world's population hadn't been so liberally exploded by liberally investing in every 3rd world dictatorship going prior to the war then after the Cold War I'd be more sympathetic.. And the Cold War was just as extreme in the other direction we ended up as bad as our enemies.. -- Total waronic wasters.. There's quite a high chance of a major satellite war taking place.. It won't be a ground nuclear war, but a space one that forms a radioactive metal dist bands in the atmosphere, with civilisation shut down... -- The Space Cadets had their chance, they got in bed with The Military, so BLEW IT, in my book.. No more tax funding for any Space Cadets. Enough is enough. !

[@exidy-yt]

@@PrivateSi I can't say I completely disagree, but the problem is that the resources on this planet are finite. Once the currently 'unviable' resources of Northern Canada, Siberia and Antarctica are explored and consumed there will be little left. Unless we crack matter replication by that point any resources will have to come from off planet. And it dosen't have to come from taxation, SpaceX has shown that private enterprise is fully capable of taking care of this problem, but Musk's focus on Mars is premature. He should be looking at harvesting asteroids for the minerals needed on Earth to grow our space infrastructure in orbit and replenish the depleted resources of the old world first.

[@BrycenKauai]

Would love to see a video on project Nerva regarding the use of a similar propulsion system to power a rocket to Mars

[@InquisMalleus]

Simon: No one is going to go play with nuclear power. Simon (a few weeks ago): This Boy Scout made a nuclear reactor in his backyard. This is how he did it and what happened.

[@mattgieseke8302]

Also the home nuclear reactor from the dangerous toys video

[@baystgrp]

In the 1970s I knew a man who had worked on PLUTO as part of the Berkeley aspect of the project. First rate mind, great physicist. It may be difficult to believe that scientists and perfectly rational people were dedicated to this idea, but believe it. Those years were the face-off between two mega powers with a zero-sum game attitude. Read “Fail-Safe” and “Alas, Babylon” to get a sense of the mindset of those years. Nuclear power was being considered for a number of applications, including interstellar space flight… Freeman Dyson was at the forefront of much of this.

[@annconover1277]

I'd like to suggest the Smithsonian as ether a side or mega projects.

[@SEAZNDragon]

Its going ti be mega of course

[@shookings]

Real talk to whoever did that black and white missile shot: that was incredible. If I didn't know the background pic, I would have been fooled.

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

Seeing a bit of the blaze creeping in again. I always love to see it.

[@ravencanis8998]

Only 7 minutes old, this is the fastest I’ve caught a video on any of these channels

[@ianmathwiz7]

Nice, I was one of the people who suggested this one!

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:45 - Chapter 1 - Novel ideas 4:25 - Chapter 2 - Novel problems 8:30 - Chapter 3 - Modern rebirth

[@cattibingo]

If nuclear power turns you into dr. Manhattan, do you also get the giant 3rd leg?

[@atomicskull6405]

The terrain following guidance system they developed for the SLAM eventually was used in the Tomahawk cruise missile btw. Modern tomahawks have GPS but still use the terrain following system in conjunction with it because unlike GPS it cannot be jammed. Basically it has an internal elevation map of the area it will be flying over and can tell where it is based on a radar beam directed at the ground in front of it because the radar return is unique for every point on the terrain map so if the "fingerprint" of the radar return is "X" then it knows it must be at "Y" location.

[@nakedonadrenaline]

The program was also called “The big stick”

[@NorCalark]

Lawrence Livermore Labs is still doing a bunch of crazy stuff. I was working there about 6 month ago and they check EVERYTHING and give you a handler that is by your side all day so you dont wander somewhere you arent supposed to be on accident.

[@123UpNorth321]

I always feel very confused after having been through a massive brain blaze marathon just to watch a more serious video from the boy with the blaze. I don't even know who I am anymore.

[@carkid7640]

Huh?

[@miniaturekitty9679]

Business blaze for life, factboi coming out in side projects more and more

[@aq5426]

I love how Brain Blaze is slowly worming its way into all of your other channels. :D

[@perstaunstrup3451]

I’d suggest a Mega Project on the development of the Internet, all the way from the US DoD 1960’s systems over ARPANET and all the sidetracks.

[@jeramysteve3394]

The ultimate "I'm dragging you to hell with me" weapon.

[@CJRoss2012]

Yes I just recommended this! Now all I need is the A-10. Aircraft videos always do good, so stop making me wait lol

[@jonathanparrott409]

You're in good form on this one today. Good on ya!

[@papadoobie5651]

My grandpa worked in the Lawrence Livermore lab back then. Gave him cancer all through his body. It's crazy how they worked with radiation with little to no safety measures.

[@glynwelshkarelian3489]

I got a Thunderbirds Are Go annual in 1966. It had cutaway plans for all the Thunderbirds, and everyone was nuclear powered, as was the airline Fireflash in the first episode, which could fly forever but had to land before everybody died of radiation poisoning!

[@spyde9674]

Would love to see a video about the EPR nuclear power plants!

[@cocoabutt1711]

Nevada resident (and radioactive mutant) here. When Trump talked about bringing back nuclear testing, I was horrified. And yet part of me still wanted to watch.

[@Diamondtai1]

I heard an anecdotal comment that was attributed to the USAF "Missile Mafia" that in comparison to the speed of delivery of an ICBM, the acronym SLAM meant "Slow, Low And Messy". It was also described as going hypersonic at tree-top level with a white-hot nuclear ramjet in the tail, such that "if the shock wave didn't kill you, the radiation would cook you."

[@collincovid6950]

Mother-in-law has been to Pluto and she says it is rather cold. She stopped off to see if the planet has any fission material for her broom stick

[@datasailor8132]

Why didn’t she just throw an empty pumpkin juice can in her Mr. Fusion. Two classical references.

[@LikeTheBuffalo]

Possible Mega Project: The development of audio recording media from wax cylinders to digital files.

[@Beryllahawk]

"I heard you like nuclear things, so we put a nuclear thing inside another nuclear thing..."

[@XLA-zg1nn]

yay you finally did it! now do Project Orion!!

[@dannypope1860]

It’s truly a catastrophe we don’t generate 100% of our power from nuclear thorium salt reactors.

[@jonathanparrott409]

Someday you'll have to do a sideprojects video on how you record edit and order you release vids. I was laughing (with you) about the collarbone injury (been there) but you've magically healed. All glory to the hypnotoad!

[@iteerrex8166]

We knew plenty about the dangers, the psychopaths just didn’t care much, and knew they were gona get away with it.

[@romanzelgatas]

Dude!! thats one of my favorite, prized issues of popular mecahnics. The Pluto doomsday missle.

[@terrestrialextra4790]

Simon's family: How many channels are you going to make Simon? We never see you? Simon: Yes!

[@BarryTGash]

Simon: SLAM that like button... Me: Gingerly clicks mouse over the like button... just to be safe.

[@bhuvaneshs.k638]

Can you do a video on ITER Tokamak project in mega projects channel Maybe

[@TytenG]

Very nice timing to upload the video, due to the fact that today it was published that Russia actually prepares for a test of 'Burevestnik' in the very near future. The preparation in the test site, located in the Arctic circle, were picked up by a civilian satellite and the analysis were made by an expert from Middlebury Institute of International Studies’ Center for Nonproliferation Studies. I think you'll need to make a follow up video really soon...

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you

[@M3PH11]

2:15 Why are we shown an animation of nuclear FUSION when we are talking about nuclear FISSION?

[@danshearer7627]

Short and sweet. Sums up the project entirely.

[@TheAutoworks]

Love the show, funnily is not a word.

[@pamelamays4186]

Suggestion: Light rail transportation systems, i.e., the San Diego Trolley System. It started out small, with a line running from downtown San Diego to the border town of San Ysidro. Over the years the trolley lines have expanded, with the most recent expansion on the Blue Line, which will travel between San Ysidro to La Jolla, the end of the line being located at the University of California San Diego, aka UCSD. There are three lines in total, the Blue, the Orange and the Green. The goals of the trolley system is to reduce freeway traffic and to make travel from one area of San Diego County to another more convenient for its citizens.

[@richardbell7678]

While the provocative nature of Project Pluto was a large factor in its cancellation, there was an even bigger issue: Development had gotten to the stage where the project had to be either cancelled, or flight tested. Flight testing a nuclear cruise missile that might have the same navigation issues as the SM-62 'Snark' was simply too daunting a prospect. Flying it at the end of a tether was examined, but cancellation became the best option.

[@philipkudrna5643]

The puns in this one were off the scale! Sensational!

[@ethannorton564]

2:13 Simon pls stop using this clip to explain a nuclear fission reactor it's a nuclear fusion reactor depicted

[@cocoabutt1711]

I second that. I have a BS degree in physics and it looked pretty silly. There's plenty of stock footage available of open pool reactors (showing off Cherenkov radiation).

[@GlenHunt]

@@cocoabutt1711 I was a nuclear electrician in the military and am a scientist now. I'm good with the fusion reactor stand-in. It makes me giggle a little and looks a lot prettier than any fission reactor ever.

[@cocoabutt1711]

@@GlenHunt But the Cherenkov radiation has the advantage of looking creepy.

[@capnrotbart]

I give Project Pluto the Barely-Less-Dangerous-Than-Perimeter-Award. Well done!

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@NeverlostatBSgaming]

Hell yeah! The SLAM missile I suggested they look into!

[@cjperry2731]

I watched an old video.. one from years ago when you DIDNT have a beard.. If it wasn't for your unmistakable voice, I would have had no clue it was you lol..

[@cjperry2731]

Also, I really want you to know that it was you saying the word "SLAAAM, the like button.." that was what actually made me click the like button lol.. Nice vid, thank you .

[@BlueBirdsProductions]

I wonder how many poses Simon took for the thumbnails and how awkward he felt doing it cuz I think there's seriously only about 5 different ones 😂

[@procatprocat9647]

Search youtube for 'Vertasium clickbait' and you will learn the answer to your question.

[@roeci6]

Fin de la guerre (boat) - siege of antwerp . The bridge acros schelde (during same siege) is also cool .

[@SlapShotRegatta22]

MEGA PROJECTS: San Alfonzo del Mar!!

[@magnemoe1]

Also surface to air missiles got much better, yes this thing flew low and fast but an integrated air defense could negate lots of this and they was pretty easy to spot :)

[@dsdy1205]

SAMs work better the higher the target. It's not entirely clear that they would be as effective against terrain-skimming missiles, there's a reason anti-ship missiles continue to push their operating altitude lower and lower

[@Tom-ef1mz]

I live by Livermore labs, one of my friends had a flooded nuclear bunker under his house built by one of the employees. Tons of crazy stuff worth a video came out of that place.

[@Jusuff]

Talking about the Lockheed CL1201: what happened to the video about it? I can't find the video about it anymore

[@MattsCollection]

I did a paper on this missile when in college. One of the concepts had them flying the cruise missile over Russia after it dropped it's payload in order to rain radiation all over Russia.

[@kvnvk8947]

That's what I remember reading years ago from a couple different sources, the thought being that the radiation generated by the nuclear ramjet would be just as, if not more, deadly and destructive than the warheads it carried. Flying low to the ground at hypersonic speeds, there was little chance of it being taken out before the fuel supply was exhausted, by which time it would render enormous parts of the USSR uninhabitable. Also, if I remember correctly, it never received a real world test flight due to concerns about the possibility of the guidance system failing resulting in the missle indiscriminately raining down radiation around the globe, on friend and foe alike, for potentially weeks with no way of stopping it.

[@MattsCollection]

@@kvnvk8947 It did get pretty far into production. Even though the employment of nuclear weapons in battle is for the large explosion and not how much radiation we can drop onto a site.

[@davidneel8327]

Follow up suggestion look into the navigation system developed for SLAM.

[@SandrA-hr5zk]

I do have to say I appreciate their Alaskan Harbor idea, because we were smart enough to create the basis of the EPA.

[@darrencorrigan8505]

Thanks, Sideprojects.

[@hullinstruments]

I know there’s not a large enough audience for it… But it would be great if Simon had a channel dedicated specifically to science. To go a bit deeper into the topics than is Common knowledge to the “general public“ Everything from in-depth nuclear physics, particle delusion and detection, lasers and photonics/optics, spectrometry, gamma spectrometry and scintillation Detecting, dozens of different incredibly complex medical technologies… Stuff like that.

[@ddanielsandberg]

Curious Droid and Scott Manley?

[@Cybrludite]

In Charles Stross' "A Colder War", a bunch of these are made as a counter to the Soviets having weaponiized Cthulhu.

[@jamesengland7461]

Exercising the nuclear option and SLAMing that like button!

[@tommy5675]

The "BAC TSR II" project Could be a good Aircraft base side project. It was the UKs cold war strike/reconnaissance project that flew and was well down the development path but was cancelled in the mid 60s in favour of the F-111......which the UK never bought in the end. It was a shame as the TSR II was very advanced for it time and would have made a very capable aircraft i'm sure.

[@Chalky.]

I'd be mad if they went too mad with MAD.

[@ericstromberg9608]

Only static engine tests were performed, using airflow from a MASSIVE compressed-air tank farm. AFAIK, we never got up to building a flyable system.

[@8bitorgy]

What's so funny about a nuclear toaster? We already have a microwave in every kitchen.

[@TheAmbex]

That last line lol

[@davidosaje4100]

Could you do a video talking about the Rockwell Star-Raker?

[@misterflibble6601]

More MADness from the 50s & 60s

[@chrisyanover1777]

Have you done a video on SpaceX's Falcon 9 or Falcon rockets? They were the first private rocket to send astronauts in space and also for the booster rocket to return and be reused!

[@charlesmorschauser5258]

They Sure did come up with some daffy ideas back in the atomic is good timeframe

[@XAirForce]

How about a project like a movie. The sets, costumes, scripts, money, choreography.

[@AtomicBabel]

Yes, Coors Ceramic as the same and parent company of Coors brewery. Yeah, I had engineering teachers who worked on this.

[@MudSluggerBP]

Cool, there’s one of those bloodhound missiles in a field near me 🤟🏻🇬🇧

[@glitchout0137]

I feel there is a lot of footage that can't be used of Simon laughing his ass off, from this one. Edit: Side project on Sideprojects idea: Best Simon out-takes and missed lines. 😆

[@treyreppe4348]

Why is the Burevestnik a footnote, IT EXPLODED!? Was it a conventional explosion or a nukular one? Was there contamination because of this?

[@winelive5500]

Hiya Simon. How about another Aussie project, this one more suited to side projects would be the C Y O’connor pipeline from outskirts of Perth Western Australia to the dry desert gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. Amazing feat of engineering a pipeline travelling 530kms on flattish terrain finished in 1903 (C Y O’connor killed himself early 1902, myth says over pipeline not working but actually it was over allegations of his hand in the death of a colleague)

[@convictjoe]

hello, remember vaguely that the tests for this thing had a huge compressed air farm, biggest ever perhaps? anyway crazy thing it was.

[@electricvisual92]

I would honestly PAY to see a Side Projects episode about "How Fact Boi (aka Simon) became SUCH a knob" 😂🤣💀💀🤣😂 I'm a HUGE fan btw tho; subscribed to ALL your channels as have watched probably 60-70% of ALL videos on ALL channels...the impressive part, I only JUST discovered you via Biographics channel about 1.5 - 2 months ago and have just COMPLETELY binged despite paying money for SEVERAL streaming apps AND premium add-ons aahhhhahahaha...soooo actually, maybe I'M THE KNOB AS IT TURBS OUT. So do an episode on "How CJ Became a Knob" Anyway as always, LOVE the content thanks bruv 😘💜😘. 😂🤣😂💀

[@davida.elliott1454]

I'd like to hear your take on the worlds tallest tank the Tsar tank just do it!

[@scottd9448]

The Bloodhound missile would be a good video.

[@MrColinWarde]

I’ve got to save this one for later but, I’d really like to know about the Nike Missile sites around American cities.

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

When you explain about how nuclear power works (splitting atoms etc) why do you show a clip of a Tokomak fusion reactor? Totally different technology.

[@jehoiakimelidoronila5450]

Coors porcelain company... Is it the same company that makes sodas (Coors light for example)??? Or a separate company?

[@kennethgonzalbo3328]

I read in a science fiction book they were using ramjets to travel faster in space. FTL or jump gates were not invented in the story.

[@jordansenna752]

Nuclear powered nuclear missle=Helicopter carried by a bunch of tiny drones

[@MTTT1234]

Pluto was meant to be even worse than described here. After dropping off its dozen or so Hydrogen bombs it was meant to fly at Mach 3 or faster at a height of just 20 meters above the surface for weeks over the USSR, destroying any structures that might stil stand by the supersonic shockwave alone, and also iradiating much of the Soviets' croplands too, just to add extra damage.

[@mh8748]

Nuclear fission described using image of nuclear fusion 🤯🤣

[@jehoiakimelidoronila5450]

I like that he snapped his fingers @ 7:30...

[@michaelshortland8863]

What about a video on the SRN4 the biggest civillian hovercraft that ran between England and France.

[@mattsiede443]

Slam also stands for slow, low, and Messi