Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (program)
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Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) - United States Air Force program of development a nuclear propulsion for aviation in 1950s.
In May 1946, the Air Force began the Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft (NEPA) project which was followed in May 1951 by the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program. The ANP program required that Convair modify two B-36s under the MX-1589 project. One of the modified B-36s studied shielding requirements for an airborne reactor to determine whether a nuclear aircraft was feasible. The Nuclear Test Aircraft (NTA) was a B-36H-20-CF (Serial Number 51-5712) that had been damaged in a tornado at Carswell AFB on September 1, 1952. This plane, designated the NB-36H, was modified to carry a 1 MW nuclear test reactor in the aft bomb bay. The reactor, named the Aircraft Shield Test Reactor [ASTR], was operational but did not power the plane. Water, acting as both moderator and coolant, was pumped through the reactor core and then to water-to-air heat exchangers to dissipate the heat to the atmosphere. The primary purpose of the flight program was shield testing. A 4-ton lead shield was mounted between the reactor and the cockpit. The cockpit was encased in lead and rubber, with a 6-inch–thick acrylic glass windshield. The amount of lead and water shielding was changeable. Measurements of the resulting radiation levels were then compared with calculated levels to enhance the ability to design optimal shielding [minimum weight] for nuclear-powered bombers. Between 1955 and 1957, the NB-36H completed 47 test flights and 215 hours of flight time, during 89 of which the reactor was operated. The NB-36H was scrapped at Fort Worth in 1958 when the Nuclear Aircraft Program was abandoned.
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