Instead someone should build a fleet of Orion spacecraft, at least four of the nuclear-pulse-propelled variety.

They should use it to deploy really big synthetic aperture telescopes, bigger than our solar system.

So what if nukes in space are banned. Tell the Russians to build their own.

I'm thinking a constellation of four giant telescopes, deployed half a lightyear in either direction from Earth, at four corners of our solar halo. They can rotate in opposing pairs, and provide 100 percent coverage of the sky. The fleet of nuclear-pulse Orions can serve as robotic servicing spacecraft. They are perfect for the job, the bigger the payload the better, and these 'scopes gotta have BIG mirrors... city-sized interferometers, each. Ok maybe the Russians could build one or two, share in the media frenzy. That is if they even have the expertise.

Make a shopping list of star systems to scan and image. the telescopes would have to be fully automated and coordinated, since signals would take a year to send & receive. But consider the challenges inherent in this idea! It'd be fun!