You Only Get To Work On One

October 6, 2023 by Edwin

Project Pluto:

Project Pluto was a United States government program to develop nuclear-powered ramjet engines for use in cruise missiles. Two experimental engines were tested at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in 1961 and 1964 respectively.

On 1 January 1957, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission selected the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory to study the feasibility of applying heat from a nuclear reactor to power a ramjet enginefor a Supersonic Low Altitude Missile. This would have many advantages over other nuclear weapons delivery systems: operating at Mach 3, or around 3,700 kilometers per hour (2,300 mph), and flying as low as 150 meters (500 ft), it would be invulnerable to interception by contemporary air defenses and carry more and larger nuclear warheads (up to sixteen with nuclear weapon yields of up to 10 megatonnes of TNT(42 PJ)) and deliver them with greater accuracy than was possible with intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBMs) at the time and, unlike them, could be recalled.

This research became known as Project Pluto, and was directed by Theodore Charles (Ted) Merkle, leader of the laboratory's R Division. Originally carried out at Livermore, California, testing was moved to new facilities constructed for $1.2 million on 21 square kilometers (8 sq mi) at NTS Site 401, also known as Jackass Flats. The test reactors were moved about on a railroad car that could be controlled remotely. The need to maintain supersonic speed at low altitude and in all kinds of weather meant that the reactor had to survive high temperatures and intense radiation. Ceramic nuclear fuel elements were used that contained highly enriched uranium oxide fuel and beryllium oxide neutron moderator.

After a series of preliminary tests to verify the integrity of the components under conditions of strain and vibration, Tory II-A, the world's first nuclear ramjet engine, was run at full power (46 MW) on 14 May 1961. A larger, fully-functional ramjet engine was then developed called Tory II-C. This was run at full power (461 MW) on 20 May 1964, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of a nuclear-powered ramjet engine. Despite these and other successful tests, ICBM technology developed quicker than expected, and this reduced the need for cruise missiles. By the early 1960s, there was greater sensitivity about the dangers of radioactive emissions in the atmosphere, and devising an appropriate test plan for the necessary flight tests was difficult. On 1 July 1964, seven years and six months after it was started, Project Pluto was canceled.

(Wiki)

There is so much more there if you want to read it.

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Vlad Putin has actually developed and deployed some thing along these lines. We actually know nothing about it, except it is lethal even if it doesn’t go off. And if it does, well you get a permanent afro and sunburn.

I guess the world has gone crazy, because ever nuclear power will have to have one (or a hundred) of these babies in their arsenal.

We aren’t exempt, the US has history:

“Starting in 1986, the Sandia National Laboratory used it for a series of classified nuclear weapons related projects, and in 1998 an unidentified organization used it for a classified project. Building 2201 was cleaned and decontaminated between 2007 and 2009 to make it safe for future demolition. In September 2013, it was reported that it had been demolished.” (Wiki)

So much more could be said about this tech, but since it is lethal, why bother.

The quote at the beginning of the article, “You Only Get ,,,” refers to the workers, who would receive a lethal dose of radiation upon servicing the weapon. Perhaps it is Vlad’s contribution to depopulation.