(Note from the editor: The following story is conjecture supported by interviews of first hand sources and a careful review of the written history. It is tempered with an understanding of reactor operations and human nature gained during more than six years in supervisory positions in military nuclear power plants. The mystery, however, is more […]
Army Nuclear Program
January 1961: SL-1 Explosion Aftermath
At 9:01 pm on January 3, 1961, the first indication of trouble at SL-1 was received at Atomic Energy Commission Fire Stations. The alarm, which was triggered by one of several measured parameters at the plant, was immediately broadcast over all National Reactor Testing Station radio networks. By 9:10 pm, fire trucks and security personnel […]
Atomic Gas Turbines: Applying Related Inventions
Based on current projections, it appears that the gas turbine is destined to fulfill the majority of the new power plant market in the United States and much of western Europe. Many of the greatest innovations – if carefully investigated – can be seen to be the result of of an inventor recognizing other inventions […]
Prefab Reactors For Off-Grid Users
At the top of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, for example, electricity for the weather station is provided by a diesel generator using fuel that must be moved by small tanker trucks struggling up a very steep grade. The Army Nuclear Power Program was established as part of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954. It was […]
Army Nuclear Power Plants
Designation Description of Reactors SM-1 This stationary military reactor was the Army’s prototype and training facility. It began operation in April 1957 at Fort Belvoir, VA, several months before the Shippingport reactor. SM-1 has the distinction of having been the first nuclear power plant to be hooked to an electrical grid. 2,000 kw. SM-1A Built […]
Letter from the Editor: Portable Nuclear Reactors
The United States Army ran an innovative nuclear power program for more than 20 years. The men involved operated a series of small, nuclear heated generating plants in some of the world’s least hospitable environments. The story of what those diligent heros did has been all but lost. Though the Army was the lead service […]
