AIRCRAFT NUCLEAR PROPULSION: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Prepared for the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE HISTORY AND MUSEUMS PROGRAM by Bernard J. Snyder MAY 3, 1996 PREFACE This is the fifth in a series of research studies—historical works that were not published for various reasons. Yet, the material contained therein was deemed to be of enduring value to Air Force members and scholars. These were minimally edited and printed in a limited edition to reach a small audience that may find them useful. We invite readers to provide feedback to the Air Force History and Museums Program. Beginning in 1946, the Army Air Forces (AAF) first sponsored a study on the Nuclear Energy for Propulsion (NEPA) project. The effort progressed over the next several years after reviews by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From this emerged the joint USAF-AEC Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program. Ten more years of studies were undertaken by governmental laboratories and industrial firms until the Kennedy administration cancelled the effort in 1961. There was, however, some useful follow-on work on high temperature materials and high performance reactors under AEC direction. Also, some of the developmental work continued under space nuclear programs. Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion is a comprehensive, unclassified, annotated bibliography of the U.S. government program to develop a nuclear-powered aircraft. The contract author, Dr. Bernard J. Snyder, is president of Energy & Management Consultants Corporation, based in Potomac, Maryland. He is uniquely qualified for this task by virtue of nearly forty years' experience in the nuclear energy field, including government agencies and the private sector. Dr. Snyder earned BME and MME degrees from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan. He completed the manuscript in May 1996. Jacob Neufeld, General Editor August 1998 CONTENTS PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... iii GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND TERMS ............................................................................ vii INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND ................................................................................1 2. INITIAL NUCLEAR-POWERED FLIGHT EFFORTS .........................................7 3. ANP CONTRACTORS .................................................................................................23 a. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. .............................................................................23 b. PRATT & WHITNEY AIRCRAFT CO. ...........................................................81 c. CONSOLIDATED VULTEE, CONVAIR, GENERAL DYNAMICS ...........105 d. LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT CO. ........................................................................123 e. OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY ..................................................127 f. OTHER SOURCES ..........................................................................................167 4. U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES .............................................................................203 a. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION ..............................................................203 b. AIR FORCE and DEPARTMENT of DEFENSE .........................................225 c. NACA/NASA ..................................................................................................245 d. NAVY ..............................................................................................................261 e. OTHERS ..........................................................................................................265 5. POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS .....................................................................267 a. U.S. CONGRESS .............................................................................................267 b. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT ......................................................................293 6. FOREIGN ANP-RELATED ACTIVITY ............................................................297 7. TERMINATION REPORTS ...............................................................................313 8. APPLICATION TO OTHER TECHNOLOGIES ...............................................323 9. EVALUATIONS OF ANP ..................................................................................335 10. POSSIBLE FUTURE FLIGHT APPLICATIONS .......................................... 339 11. ILLUSTRATIONS ..............................................................................................373 12. ABANDONED ANP FACILITY ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ...................375 13. ANP ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS ..............................................................379 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND TERMS AAF Army Air Forces ACRS Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards ACT Advanced Core Test AEC Atomic Energy Commission AERL Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory AEW Airborne Early Warning AF Air Force AFSC Air Force Systems Command AGARD Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development ARIN Aerospace Research Information Network ANP Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion ANPD Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Department ANPO Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Office ANS American Nuclear Society ARB Aircraft Reactors Branch ARDC Air Research and Development Command ARE Aircraft Reactor Experiment ART Aircraft Reactor Test ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASTR Aircraft Shield Test Reactor ASW Antisubmarine Warfare BOB Bureau of the Budget BSF Bulk Shielding Facility CAMAL(S) Continuous Airborne Missile-Launcher and Low Level Weapon CANEL Connecticut Aircraft Nuclear Energy Laboratory. [“Aircraft” changed to “Advanced” after ANP cancellation in 1961] CCR Compact Core Reactor CFR Circulating Fuel Reactor CFRE Circulating Fuel Reactor Experiment CIC Coordination and Information Center CNO Chief of Naval Operations DOD Department of Defense DOE Department of Energy DOE/NV Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office DRD Division of Reactor Development DTIC Defense Technical Information Center DTIE Division of Technical Information Extension (later became OSTI) Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion: An Annotated Bibliography vii EDB Energy Data Base ETU Engineering Test Unit FET Flight Engine Test FY Fiscal Year GAC General Advisory Committee GAO General Accounting Office GE General Electric Co. GTR Ground Test Reactor HOTCE Hot Critical Experiment HRE Homogeneous Reactor Experiment HTRE High Temperature Test Reactor IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ICPP Idaho Chemical Processing Plant IET Initial Engine Test IETF Initial Engine Test Facility INEL Idaho Nuclear Energy Laboratory IRIS Inferential Retrieval Indexing System JCAE Joint Committee for Atomic Energy JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff JRDB Joint Research and Development Board KeV Thousand Electron Volts KIWI Nuclear Rocket Ground Test LCRE Lithium Cooled Reactor Experiment LITR Low Intensity Test Reactor LMCR Liquid Metal Cooled Reactor LMNPS Light Mobile Nuclear Power Supply LPT Low Power Test MeV Million Electron Volts MHD Magnetohydrodynamics MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology MLC Military Liaison Committee MSA Mine Safety Appliance Corp. MTR Materials Test Reactor NACA National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics viii Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion: An Annotated Bibliography NAP Nuclear Aircraft Propulsion NARF Nuclear Aircraft Research Facility NBS National Bureau of Standards NDA Nuclear Development Associates NEPA Nuclear Energy for Propulsion of Aircraft NERVA Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRTS National Reactor Test Station NSA Nuclear Science Abstracts NSC National Security Council NTA Nuclear Test Aircraft NTF Nuclear Test Facility NTIS National Technical Information Service nvt Time Integrated Neutron Dose ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory ORR Oak Ridge Reactor OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy OSTI Office of Scientific and Technical Information (previously called DTIE) ppm Parts Per Million psig Pounds Per Square Inch Gauge RDB Research and Development Board RDD Reactor Development Division RECON NASA Research Connection REM Roentgen Equivalent Man, a unit of radiation exposure RG Record Group RTF Reactor Test Facility SAB Scientific Advisory Board SAC Strategic Air Command SAE Society of Automotive Engineers SDR Sodium Deuterium Reactor SFR Solid Fuel Reactor SHP Shaft Horsepower SMR Solid Moderator Reactor SNAP Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power SNM Special Nuclear Material SNSO Space Nuclear Systems Office SOR Specific Operational Requirement STOL Short Take-Off and Landing TAB Technical Advisory Board Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion: An Annotated Bibliography ix TBP Tributyl Phosphate TRA Tubular Reactor Assembly TRW Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge Corp. TSF Tower Shielding Facility TSM Test Solid Moderator Critical Assembly TVA Tennessee Valley Authority VTOL Vertical Take-Off and Landing WADC Wright Air Development Center WCF Waste Calcining Facility WS Weapon System WSEG Weapons Systems Evaluation Group XMA Nuclear Turbojet Engine ZPR Zero Power Reactor ZPT Zero Power Test x Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion: An Annotated Bibliography Introduction Attempts by the United States government to develop nuclear-powered aircraft for military applications between 1946 and 1961 was one