The USS Nautilus was the first Nuclear-powered submarine that the US built, it was in service for 25 years. It’s first sea trials were in 1955 and it was the first ship to reach the north pole. It used a light-water moderated highly-enriched uranium core. The fuel plates were clad in zirconium. The first core was able to travel 62,000 mi without refueling.
[[S1W Reactor]] – used the nautilus reactor as a prototype
Sources
- [1] H I Sutton, Apex Predators: AIP Submarines Explained by Covert Shores (Air Independent Propulsion), (Jul. 30, 2021). Accessed: Nov. 28, 2022. [Online Video]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2QS_aEsVuw
- [2] M. Ragheb, “Nuclear Naval Propulsion,” in Nuclear Power – Deployment, Operation and Sustainability, P. Tsvetkov, Ed., InTech, 2011. doi: 10.5772/19007.
Backlinks
High Enriched Uranium
Nuclear Reactor
Nuclear-Powered Submarines
[[Zirconium]]