Space Odessey
As I recall, the original conception of the spaceship used in Kubrick's 2001 to send a manned mission to Jupiter included the use of atomic explosions to propel the craft, but controversy of some sort eliminated that detail. Two years later, and proposed for no earlier than a year beyond Arthur C. Clarke's sequel, 2010, a nuclear-powered Jupiter orbiter is being proposed. No HAL, no Bowman, no mysterious obelisk, though, unless there's something we're not hearing.