Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Army Reactors Experimental Area Historic American Engineering Record Report - ID-33-D.
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Army Reactors Experimental Area Historic American Engineering Record Report - ID-33-D.

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Published: 1997

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) established the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) in 1949 as a place for the safe development of nuclear energy. It selected the desert site in eastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain for its abundant supply of subsurface water and its relative isolation from densely populated settlements. The land already was in public ownership because the United States Navy had used it as a proving ground in connection with its Pocatello Ordnance Depot during World War II. The NRTS presently consists of about 890 square miles. Its name was changed to Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in 1974 and then to Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in 1997. The business of NRTS was to experiment with and then accumulate and disseminate knowledge about nuclear reactors. One of the major goals of the United States Congress was to promote a commercial nuclear power industry. Much of the testing and experimentation at the NRTS was related to reactor safety and promoted this goal directly. Military application, although focused on weapon systems such as nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft bombers, were expected to generate knowledge and experience transferable to a commercial industry.

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Army Reactors Experimental Area Historic American Engineering Record Report - ID-33-D.
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Army Reactors Experimental Area Historic American Engineering Record Report - ID-33-D.

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13:

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The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) established the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) in 1949 as a place for the safe development of nuclear energy. It selected the desert site in eastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain for its abundant supply of subsurface water and its relative isolation from densely populated settlements. The land already was in public ownership because the United States Navy had used it as a proving ground in connection with its Pocatello Ordnance Depot during World War II. The NRTS presently consists of about 890 square miles. Its name was changed to Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in 1974 and then to Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in 1997. The business of NRTS was to experiment with and then accumulate and disseminate knowledge about nuclear reactors. One of the major goals of the United States Congress was to promote a commercial nuclear power industry. Much of the testing and experimentation at the NRTS was related to reactor safety and promoted this goal directly. Military application, although focused on weapon systems such as nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft bombers, were expected to generate knowledge and experience transferable to a commercial industry.

Historical American Engineering Record - Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Test Area North, Haer No. ID-33-E.
Historical American Engineering Record - Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Test Area North, Haer No. ID-33-E.

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Published: 2005

Total Pages:

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Test Area North (TAN) was a site of the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) Project of the U.S. Air Force and the Atomic Energy Commission. Its Cold War mission was to develop a turbojet bomber propelled by nuclear power. The project was part of an arms race. Test activities took place in five areas at TAN. The Assembly & Maintenance area was a shop and hot cell complex. Nuclear tests ran at the Initial Engine Test area. Low-power test reactors operated at a third cluster. The fourth area was for Administration. A Flight Engine Test facility (hangar) was built to house the anticipated nuclear-powered aircraft. Experiments between 1955-1961 proved that a nuclear reactor could power a jet engine, but President John F. Kennedy canceled the project in March 1961. ANP facilities were adapted for new reactor projects, the most important of which were Loss of Fluid Tests (LOFT), part of an international safety program for commercial power reactors. Other projects included NASA's Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power and storage of Three Mile Island meltdown debris. National missions for TAN in reactor research and safety research have expired; demolition of historic TAN buildings is underway.