Larry J also likes the Orion, but beside the joy of the unobtainable fantasy, it really doesn't "solve the problem". It's not a problem to do with a lack of technology- and that includes Orion technology or nanofibers for a space elevators or anything else. Problem is (was & shall always be) the lack of markets in space.
Assuming laws could be passed that allowed Orion to be built and operated, and even assuming the development cost were paid for. Chemcial rockets could still be competive- assuming they weren't outlawed- with Orion. The operational cost one Orion launch could make a shuttle launch seem very cheap. There is nothing which you "really need" which would be so massive that you need a Orion launch. You could get to Mars quicker, you could lift zillions of tons of solar panels, but this by itself, does not solve anything- other than give the Orion something to do, and provide "a reason" to waste huge globs of tax payer money. Somewhere in all this wasted money, some how, you could establish some kind of market in space, if that happened, then you might get somewhere.