Nuclear aircraft
Encyclopedia
A nuclear aircraft is an aircraft
powered by nuclear energy
. Research into them was pursued during the Cold War
by the United States
and the Soviet Union
as they would presumably allow a country to keep nuclear bombers in the air for extremely long periods of time, a useful tactic for nuclear deterrence. Neither country created any nuclear aircraft in production numbers. One design problem, never adequately solved, was the need for heavy shielding to protect the crew from radiation sickness
. Since the advent of ICBMs in the 60s the tactical advantage of such aircraft was greatly diminished and respective projects were cancelled. Because the technology was inherently dangerous it was not considered in non-military contexts.
Unmanned missiles have been designed to use nuclear thermal rocket
s, but such designs were considered too dangerous for crews to fly.
. Studies under this program were done until May, 1951 when NEPA was replaced by the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program. The ANP program included provisions for studying two different types of nuclear-powered jet engines, General Electric
's Direct Air Cycle and Pratt & Whitney
's Indirect Air Cycle. ANP also contained plans for two B-36s to be modified by Convair under the MX-1589 project, one of the B-36s was to be used to study shielding requirements for an airborne reactor while the other was to be the X-6
. The program was cancelled before the X-6 was completed, however.
The first operation of an aircraft engine on nuclear-power was achieved on January 31, 1956 using a modified General Electric
J47 turbojet engine. The Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion
program was terminated following the President's annual budget message to Congress in 1961.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory
conducted research (Aircraft Reactor Experiment) to produce a nuclear powered aircraft. Two General Electric turbofan engines were successfully powered to nearly full thrust using two shielded reactors. The two engines complete with reactor system are currently located at the EBR-1 facility south of the Idaho National Laboratory
.
The U.S. designed these engines to be used in a new specially designed nuclear bomber, the WS-125
, which was eventually terminated by Eisenhower who cut NEPA and told Congress that there was no urgency for the program. Eisenhower did back a small scale program developing high temperature materials and high performance reactors. That program was terminated early in the Kennedy administration.
contracted with the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory to study the feasibility of applying heat from nuclear reactors to ramjet
engines. This research became known as Project Pluto. The engines being developed under this program were intended to power an unmanned cruise missile, called SLAM, for Supersonic Low Altitude Missile
. The program succeeded in producing two test engines which were operated on the ground. On May 14, 1961, the world's first nuclear ramjet engine, "Tory-IIA," mounted on a railroad car, roared to life for just a few seconds. On July 1, 1964, seven years and six months after it was born, "Project Pluto" was cancelled.
Photographs illustrated the article, along with technical diagrams on the proposed layout. They were so widely seen that one company produced a plastic model aircraft
, a surprisingly faithful rendition of the diagrams in the article.
Concerns were soon expressed in Washington that "the Russians were from three to five years ahead of the US in the field of atomic aircraft engines and that they would move even further ahead unless the US pressed forward with its own program". This led to continued funding of the US's own program, for a time.
In reality the entire article was a hoax. The aircraft in the photographs was later revealed to be the entirely conventional Myasishchev M-50
Bounder, a medium-range strategic bomber with performance similar to the USAFs B-58 Hustler
. The design was considered a failure and never entered service. The design was revealed to the public on Soviet Aviation Day in 1963 at Monino
, putting the issue to rest.
, also known as the Tu-95LAL (LAL- Летающая Атомная Лаборатория- Flying Nuclear Laboratory). It was based on a Tupolev Tu-95
bomber. It had 4 conventional turboprop engines and an onboard nuclear reactor. The Tu-119 completed 34 research flights. Most of these were made with the reactor shut down. The main purpose of the flight phase was examining the effectiveness of the radiation shielding which was one of the main concerns for the engineers. Massive amounts of protection used resulted in radiation levels low enough to consider continuing development. But, as in the US, development never continued past this point. The obvious potential of the ICBM made the expensive program superfluous, and around the mid 1960s it was cancelled.
Several other projects reached only design phase.
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
powered by nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
. Research into them was pursued during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as they would presumably allow a country to keep nuclear bombers in the air for extremely long periods of time, a useful tactic for nuclear deterrence. Neither country created any nuclear aircraft in production numbers. One design problem, never adequately solved, was the need for heavy shielding to protect the crew from radiation sickness
Radiation Sickness
Radiation Sickness is a VHS by the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault. The video is a recording of a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in 1988. It was released in 1991...
. Since the advent of ICBMs in the 60s the tactical advantage of such aircraft was greatly diminished and respective projects were cancelled. Because the technology was inherently dangerous it was not considered in non-military contexts.
Unmanned missiles have been designed to use nuclear thermal rocket
Nuclear thermal rocket
In a nuclear thermal rocket a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is heated to a high temperature in a nuclear reactor, and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust. In this kind of thermal rocket, the nuclear reactor's energy replaces the chemical energy of the propellant's...
s, but such designs were considered too dangerous for crews to fly.
NEPA and ANP
In May 1946, the Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft (NEPA) project was started by the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Studies under this program were done until May, 1951 when NEPA was replaced by the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program. The ANP program included provisions for studying two different types of nuclear-powered jet engines, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
's Direct Air Cycle and Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
's Indirect Air Cycle. ANP also contained plans for two B-36s to be modified by Convair under the MX-1589 project, one of the B-36s was to be used to study shielding requirements for an airborne reactor while the other was to be the X-6
Convair X-6
-See also:*Project Pluto*Project Rover*NERVA*WS-125Comparable aircraft* Tupolev Tu-119-External links:* original published on Aviation History, March 1995.* Section devoted to NB-36H...
. The program was cancelled before the X-6 was completed, however.
The first operation of an aircraft engine on nuclear-power was achieved on January 31, 1956 using a modified General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
J47 turbojet engine. The Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion
Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion
The Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program and the preceding Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft project worked to develop a nuclear propulsion system for aircraft. The United States Army Air Force initiated Project NEPA on May 28, 1946...
program was terminated following the President's annual budget message to Congress in 1961.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
conducted research (Aircraft Reactor Experiment) to produce a nuclear powered aircraft. Two General Electric turbofan engines were successfully powered to nearly full thrust using two shielded reactors. The two engines complete with reactor system are currently located at the EBR-1 facility south of the Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory is an complex located in the high desert of eastern Idaho, between the town of Arco to the west and the cities of Idaho Falls and Blackfoot to the east. It lies within Butte, Bingham, Bonneville and Jefferson counties...
.
The U.S. designed these engines to be used in a new specially designed nuclear bomber, the WS-125
WS-125
The WS-125 was a proposed super long range bomber, designed by the United States during the cold war. It was supposed to be a nuclear aircraft and was scheduled to be named as B-72....
, which was eventually terminated by Eisenhower who cut NEPA and told Congress that there was no urgency for the program. Eisenhower did back a small scale program developing high temperature materials and high performance reactors. That program was terminated early in the Kennedy administration.
Project Pluto
In 1957, the Air Force and the U.S. Atomic Energy CommissionUnited States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
contracted with the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory to study the feasibility of applying heat from nuclear reactors to ramjet
Ramjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
engines. This research became known as Project Pluto. The engines being developed under this program were intended to power an unmanned cruise missile, called SLAM, for Supersonic Low Altitude Missile
Supersonic Low Altitude Missile
The Supersonic Low Altitude Missile or SLAM was a canceled U.S. Air Force project conceived around 1955...
. The program succeeded in producing two test engines which were operated on the ground. On May 14, 1961, the world's first nuclear ramjet engine, "Tory-IIA," mounted on a railroad car, roared to life for just a few seconds. On July 1, 1964, seven years and six months after it was born, "Project Pluto" was cancelled.
Soviet Nuclear Bomber hoax
The 1 December 1958 issue of Aviation Week included an article, Soviets Flight Testing Nuclear Bomber, that claimed that the Soviets had made great progress in their own nuclear aircraft program. This was accompanied by an editorial on the topic as well. The magazine claimed that the aircraft was real beyond a doubt, stating that "A nuclear-powered bomber is being flight tested in the Soviet Union. Completed about six months ago, this aircraft has been flying in the Moscow area for at least two months. It has been observed both in flight and on the ground by a wide variety of foreign observers from Communist and non-Communist countries." Unlike the US designs of the same era, which were purely experimental, the article noted that "The Soviet aircraft is a prototype of a design to perform a military mission as a continuous airborne alert warning system and missile launching platform."Photographs illustrated the article, along with technical diagrams on the proposed layout. They were so widely seen that one company produced a plastic model aircraft
Model aircraft
Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...
, a surprisingly faithful rendition of the diagrams in the article.
Concerns were soon expressed in Washington that "the Russians were from three to five years ahead of the US in the field of atomic aircraft engines and that they would move even further ahead unless the US pressed forward with its own program". This led to continued funding of the US's own program, for a time.
In reality the entire article was a hoax. The aircraft in the photographs was later revealed to be the entirely conventional Myasishchev M-50
Myasishchev M-50
-External links:* http://www.aviation.ru/Mya/#50* *...
Bounder, a medium-range strategic bomber with performance similar to the USAFs B-58 Hustler
B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...
. The design was considered a failure and never entered service. The design was revealed to the public on Soviet Aviation Day in 1963 at Monino
Monino
Monino is an urban locality in Shchyolkovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated east of Moscow. Population:...
, putting the issue to rest.
Tupolev Tu-119
The Soviet program of developing nuclear aircraft resulted in the experimental Tupolev Tu-119Tupolev Tu-119
- External links :* * *...
, also known as the Tu-95LAL (LAL- Летающая Атомная Лаборатория- Flying Nuclear Laboratory). It was based on a Tupolev Tu-95
Tupolev Tu-95
The Tupolev Tu-95 is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the former Soviet Union in 1956 and is expected to serve the Russian Air Force until at least 2040...
bomber. It had 4 conventional turboprop engines and an onboard nuclear reactor. The Tu-119 completed 34 research flights. Most of these were made with the reactor shut down. The main purpose of the flight phase was examining the effectiveness of the radiation shielding which was one of the main concerns for the engineers. Massive amounts of protection used resulted in radiation levels low enough to consider continuing development. But, as in the US, development never continued past this point. The obvious potential of the ICBM made the expensive program superfluous, and around the mid 1960s it was cancelled.
Several other projects reached only design phase.
See also
- Georgia Nuclear Aircraft LaboratoryGeorgia Nuclear Aircraft LaboratoryThe Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory, also known as AFP No. 67, for Air Force Plant 67 was a United States Air Force test facility located in the Dawson Forest in Dawsonville, Georgia. It was the site of Lockheed's lab for investigating the feasibility of nuclear aircraft...
- Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion ProjectAircraft Nuclear PropulsionThe Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program and the preceding Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft project worked to develop a nuclear propulsion system for aircraft. The United States Army Air Force initiated Project NEPA on May 28, 1946...
- Induced gamma emission speculated as power source for aircraft
External links
- News article on the future of nuclear airplanes
- Short overview of the NB-36 programme
- Molten salt reactor experiment (initially intended for aircraft propulsion)
- Descriptions of the Tu-95 experiment: http://vfk1.narod.ru/Tu-95LAL.htm http://www.testpilot.ru/russia/tupolev/95/lal/tu95lal.htm (in Russian)
- The Decay of the Atomic Powered Aircraft Program, retrieved 2009 Dec 21, includes a bibliography
- Flying on Nuclear, The American Effort to Built a Nuclear Powered Bomber by Raul Colon , retrieved 2009 Dec 21
- "A Scientist Preview The First Atomic Airplane" by Gerald Wendt for 1951 a very good article with illustrations on the subject of using an atomic reactor to power an aircraft