SM-1
Encyclopedia
SM-1 is a 2 MWe nuclear reactor
developed for The US Army Nuclear Power Program
(ANPP). It was located at Fort Belvoir
, VA, and achieved first criticality in 1957 (several months before the Shippingport Reactor
) It was the first US nuclear power plant
to be connected to an electrical grid.
It was decommissioned in 1973.
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
developed for The US Army Nuclear Power Program
Army Nuclear Power Program
The Army Nuclear Power Program was a program of the United States Army to develop small pressurized water and boiling water nuclear power reactors to generate electrical and space-heating energy primarily at remote, relatively inaccessible sites. The ANPP had several notable accomplishments, but...
(ANPP). It was located at Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
, VA, and achieved first criticality in 1957 (several months before the Shippingport Reactor
Shippingport Reactor
The Shippingport Atomic Power Station, "the world’s first full-scale atomic electric power plant devoted exclusively to peacetime uses," was located near the present-day Beaver Valley Nuclear Generating Station on the Ohio River in Beaver...
) It was the first US nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
to be connected to an electrical grid.
It was decommissioned in 1973.