The November issue describes the small reactors designed for remote site power stations. It is dedicated to the small group of soldiers, sailors and airmen who operated prefab reactors in places like Greenland, Antarctica, and the Panama Canal Zone from 1957 until 1974.
This is an August 2022 update of an article first published in November 1996 and updated in February 2019. The first update was stimulated by discussions associated with DOD’s issuance of an RFI for mobile, modest power output atomic power systems. That RFI resulted in Project Pele, which has now selected BWXT to build a…
Russian Delegation Visits Cuba (October 10, 1995) Russian scientists and businessmen visited Cuba to discuss the future of the VVER-440 pressurized water reactor at Juragua. According to an official at Cuba’s National Center for Nuclear Security, construction was halted when the reactor was 90 percent complete. Cuba’s government is investigating the possibility of completing the…
The Army Nuclear Power Program was established as part of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954. It was charged with the responsibility of developing reactors suitable for providing electrical power to remote bases and outposts. Some of the people associated with the Army Nuclear Power Program saw essentially unlimited potential for small, transportable reactors. Most…
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…
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…