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65-571: Atomics International was a division of the North American Aviation company (later acquired by the Rockwell International company) which engaged principally in the early development of nuclear technology and nuclear reactors for both commercial and government applications. Atomics International was responsible for a number of accomplishments relating to nuclear energy : design, construction and operation of

130-557: A a museum exhibit with a Japanese-language website Archived April 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at Tokaimura , Japan The Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE) was an experimental nuclear reactor which operated from 1957 to 1964. On July 12, 1957, its electrical generating system produced the first electricity generated from a nuclear power system to supply a commercial power grid in the United States by powering homes in

195-524: A biphenyl like oil). The Piqua facility was built and operated between 1963 and 1966 as a demonstration project by the Atomic Energy Commission . The facility ceased operation in 1966. It was dismantled between 1967 and 1969, and the radioactive coolant and most other radioactive materials were removed. The remaining radioactive structural components of the reactor were entombed in the reactor vessel under sand and concrete. The plant

260-461: A holding company that bought and sold interests in various airlines and aviation-related companies. However, the Air Mail Act of 1934 forced the breakup of such holding companies. North American became a manufacturing company, run by James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger , who had been recruited from Douglas Aircraft Company . NAA did retain ownership of Eastern Air Lines until 1938. In 1933,

325-411: A 93% enriched uranyl sulphate solution held in a critical configuration in a spherical vessel. Reactivity was controlled using an arrangement of control rods within tubes penetrating the reactor vessel. The solution did not boil; rather, neutron and gamma flux caused radiolytic decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen in the form of tiny bubbles that gave the impression of boiling. One reactor model,

390-692: A building at the corner of Owensmouth Avenue and Vanowen Street in Canoga Park , California , adjacent to the Rocketdyne Canoga facility. Principal work performed at the Vanowen facility included fuel development for the SNAP program, and radiochemistry. The site also supported the design, development and operation of two small aqueous homogeneous reactors , the 5 watt L-47 reactor and the ten watt L-77 reactor. By 1960, both reactors were closed and

455-532: A nuclear reactor using liquid metals instead of water or gas. Atomics International operated the ETEC as a separate division at SSFL under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy . The ETEC operated from 1966 to 1998. Atomics International was a division of a private company which engaged in the commercial enterprise of selling products and services to other companies, Universities and foreign governments. Atomics International also conducted research and development for

520-838: A permit to operate granted and monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the California State Department of Health Services, Radiological Health Branch. Four buildings at SSFL were licensed by the NRC: Rockwell International Hot Lab (4020), The L-85 reactor building (4093), Nuclear Materials Development Facility (4055), and the Fast Critical Experiment Laboratory (4100). Personnel radiation exposure limitations were generally lower for those working in facilities licensed by

585-593: A public company. Nevertheless, NAA continued with new designs, including the T-28 Trojan trainer and attack aircraft, the F-82 Twin Mustang fighter, B-45 Tornado jet bomber, the FJ Fury fighter, AJ Savage , the revolutionary XB-70 Valkyrie Mach-3 strategic bomber , Shrike Commander , and T-39 Sabreliner business jet. The Columbus, Ohio division of North American Aviation was instrumental in

650-578: A range of compact nuclear reactors culminating with the Systems for Auxiliary Nuclear Power SNAP-10A system. Both efforts were successful, despite nuclear accidents at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory , but overall interest in nuclear power steadily declined. The division transitioned to non-nuclear energy-related projects such as coal gasification and gradually ceased designing and testing nuclear reactors. Atomics International

715-598: A result of this decline, Atomics International was organizationally combined with other Rockwell International operations to become the Energy Systems Group in 1978. Atomics International ceased as an autonomous business division, however, their remaining business activities were performed as the Atomics International division of Energy Systems Group, Rockwell International. The remaining Atomics International business operations were merged into

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780-403: A ten watt L-77 aqueous homogeneous reactor , nuclear reactor fuel fabrication, a gamma irradiation facility, and a radiochemistry laboratory. All of the operations involving radioactive materials were removed by the mid-1990s. The property is now owned and operated by Aerojet Rocketdyne . Space was leased from Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge Inc, renamed TRW in 1965, for nuclear research projects. It

845-572: The Atomic Energy Commission . The Piqua reactor was a 45.5 MWe organically moderated and cooled reactor while Hallam was a liquid metal cooled reactor using metallic sodium with graphite as the moderator. Both Hallam and Piqua were beset by technical problems and operated only a few years before being permanently shut down. Development of a compact nuclear reactor for the Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) program largely coincided with Atomic International's Sodium Reactor Experiment effort. In

910-768: The Atomics International Hot Lab (later renamed the Rockwell International Hot Lab ) at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. This facility performed the disassembly of fuel rods to support the on-site research and development of the SNAP reactors and for the decladding of nuclear fuel rods from off-site commercial nuclear reactors. Atomics International also developed a coal gasification process using molten salt technology. As time passed, nuclear research and development activities steadily declined. As

975-641: The GA-15 observation plane and the GA-16 trainer, followed by the O-47 and BT-9 , also called the GA-16. The BC-1 of 1937 was North American's first combat aircraft; it was based on the GA-16. In 1940, like other manufacturers, North American started gearing up for war, opening factories in Columbus, Ohio , Dallas, Texas , and Kansas City, Kansas . North American ranked eleventh among United States corporations in

1040-730: The General Motors Corporation purchased a controlling interest in NAA, and merged it with the General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation , but retained the name North American Aviation. Kindelberger moved the company's operations from Dundalk, Maryland to Los Angeles, California , which allowed flying year-round, and decided to focus on training aircraft, on the theory that it would be easier than trying to compete with established companies on larger projects. NAA's first planes were

1105-614: The S-II second stage of the Saturn V . The fatal Apollo 1 fire in January 1967 was initially blamed on the company in the press, although a Congressional Hearing later ruled otherwise. In September, it merged with Rockwell-Standard, and the merged company became known as North American Rockwell . During this period the company continued its involvement with the Apollo program , building

1170-526: The Santa Susana Field Laboratory property, including Area IV, with its environmental cleanup responsibilities. The Hamilton Sundstrand division of United Technologies Corporation became the recipient of the remaining technical knowledge from the Atomics International nuclear-related activities. Atomics International has its beginnings in Downey then moved to several locations in the western end of California's San Fernando Valley in Canoga Park . Since all of

1235-529: The Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power program undertaken in 1955 by the United States was the development of compact, lightweight, reliable atomic electric devices for space, land and sea. The Atomic Energy Commission – AEC (predecessor to the Department of Energy – DOE ), was the procurement agency for the Department of Defense (DOD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA requirements. The AEC

1300-647: The US Navy and US Marine Corps for four decades. The Buckeye's name would be an acknowledgment to the state tree of Ohio , as well as the mascot of Ohio State University . The North American F-86 Sabre started out as a redesigned Fury and achieved fame shooting down MiGs in the Korean War . Over 9,000 F-86s were produced. Its successor, the North American F-100 Super Sabre , was also popular. Some 6,656 F-86s were produced in

1365-643: The Water Boiler Neutron Source . The four watt reactor was shut down and moved to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in December 1955. The reactor-related facilities were examined and determined to be free of residual radioactivity and reused as general office space. The Downey facility was transferred to the City of Downey and the buildings subsequently demolished and replaced with a variety of commercial buildings. Atomics International occupied

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1430-568: The X-15 , a rocket-powered aircraft that first flew in 1959. In 1959, North American built the first of several Little Joe boosters used to test the launch escape system for the Project Mercury spacecraft . In 1960, the new CEO Lee Atwood decided to focus on the space program , and the company became the prime contractor for the Apollo command and service module , a larger Little Joe II rocket to test Apollo's launch escape system, and

1495-534: The AEC of trying to impose an 'absolute Iron Curtain around thought' regarding nuclear secrecy. At the same committee meeting the locations of the seven proposed power plants were announced: By September 27, 1956 the AEC authorized contract negotiations for the $ 8M plant. $ 4M would come from the AEC to finance the reactor construction and $ 4M would be from the city of Piqua for facilities, land and building. The Atomics International division of North American Aviation

1560-535: The Atomics International facilities involved radioactive materials to some extent, documentation is available regarding the historical operations at each site. The Atomic Energy Research Development Group began operations in the North American Aviation plant located on Lakewood Drive in Downey, California . They performed basic research and constructed at least one aqueous homogeneous reactor named

1625-662: The Columbus plant grew from 1,600 in 1950 to 18,000 in 1952. The cancellation of the F-107 and F-108 programs in the late 1950s, as well as the cancellation of the Navaho intercontinental cruise missile program, was a blow to North American from which it never fully recovered. Atomics International was a division of North American Aviation which began as the Atomic Energy Research Department at

1690-728: The Command and Service modules for all eleven missions. Within two years the new company also was studying concepts for the Space Shuttle , and won the orbiter contract in 1972. In 1973, the company changed its name again to Rockwell International and named its aircraft division North American Aircraft Operations. Rockwell International's defense and space divisions (including the North American Aviation divisions Autonetics and Rocketdyne) were sold to Boeing in December 1996. Initially called Boeing North American, these groups were integrated with Boeing's Defense division. Rocketdyne

1755-511: The Downey plant in 1948. In 1955, the department was renamed Atomics International and engaged principally in the early development of nuclear technology and nuclear reactors for both commercial and government applications. Atomics International was responsible for a number of accomplishments relating to nuclear energy: design, construction and operation of the first nuclear reactor in California (a small aqueous homogeneous reactor located at

1820-465: The L-54, was purchased and installed by a number of United States universities and foreign research institutions, including Japan. The Japanese Atomic Research Institute renamed theirs Japan Research Reactor-1 (JRR-1) and the government of Japan issued a commemorative postage stamp noting the establishment of Japan's first nuclear reactor in 1957. The reactor was decommissioned in 1970 and is now maintained as

1885-715: The NAA Downey plant), the first nuclear reactor to produce power for a commercial power grid in the United States (the Sodium Reactor Experiment located at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory ) and the first nuclear reactor launched into outer space by the United States (the SNAP-10A ). As overall interest in nuclear power declined, Atomics International transitioned to non-nuclear energy-related projects such as coal gasification and gradually ceased designing and testing nuclear reactors. Atomics International

1950-500: The NRC as opposed to sites overseen by the DOE and operating personnel frequently rotated between the facilities. North American Aviation Through a series of mergers and sales, North American Aviation became part of North American Rockwell , which later became Rockwell International , and is now part of Boeing . On December 6, 1928, Clement Melville Keys founded North American as

2015-553: The P-51 into what many consider to be the best American fighter of the war. Labor troubles became a grave issue in 1941. During the 22 months from August 1939 to June 1941 Stalin and Hitler supported each other as war raged in Europe. In the U.S., local union officials opposed American aid to Britain's war against Germany. They called strikes in war industries that were supplying Lend Lease to Britain. The United Auto Workers (UAW) won

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2080-535: The Rocketdyne division of Rockwell International in 1984 when the Energy Systems Group was ended. Nuclear research programs and operations ceased in 1989 and all non-nuclear research ended in 1998. Rockwell International sold the Rocketdyne division to The Boeing Company in 1996. In 2005, Boeing sold Rocketdyne to United Technologies Corporation who combined it with an existing division and renamed them Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne . Boeing retained ownership of

2145-569: The SNAP reactors. In the late 1950s to the early 1960s, Atomics International established a number of government-owned facilities to support the SNAP program at the Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) in Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL). The SNAP-10A was the only nuclear reactor launched and flight tested by the United States. The City of Los Angeles issued a proclamation to recognize

2210-515: The Sodium Reactor Experiment became the first nuclear reactor in the United States to produce electrical power for a commercial power grid by powering the nearby city of Moorpark . In July 1959 an accident where the narrow internal cooling channels within the reactor fuel assemblies became obstructed by an organic contaminant causing 13 of 43 reactor core fuel elements to partially melt. Atomics International personnel repaired

2275-521: The USSR on June 22, the Communist activists suddenly became the strongest supporters of war production; they crushed wildcat strikes. Post-war, North American's employment dropped from a high of 91,000 to 5,000 in 1946. On V-J Day , North American had orders from the U.S. government for 8,000 aircraft. A few months later, that had dropped to 24. Two years later in 1948, General Motors divested NAA as

2340-620: The United States Government. Operating both as a contractor to the U.S. Government and as a commercial company, Atomics International maintained authorizations allowing for the use of radioactive materials in either situation. Activities using radioactive materials owned by the Department of Energy were supervised by that government agency and no licensing was required. For facilities such as the DeSoto, Vanowen operated under

2405-492: The United States, the most produced postwar military aircraft in the West, as well as another 2,500 elsewhere. To accommodate its Sabre production, North American opened facilities in a former Curtiss-Wright plant in Columbus, Ohio . It also moved into a former Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft plant at Downey, California , and in 1948, built a new plant at Downey. By the end of 1952, North American sales topped $ 315 million. Employment at

2470-462: The accomplishment. The facilities included underground test facilities to test the compact SNAP nuclear reactors, non-nuclear test and support buildings, and administrative offices. Atomics International developed and tested five different SNAP reactors under the Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power Program. At the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, approximately twenty facilities were designed and built in Area IV to manage radioactive materials in support of

2535-589: The cleanup of both chemical and radiological impacts within Area IV under the 2010 Administrative Order on Consent (AOC). The AOC requires the DOE to clean up both chemical and radiological contaminants to background concentrations within the underlying soils of the 290-acre Area IV. In May 2009, the US Environmental Protection Agency began a $ 41.5 million survey to determine the nature and extent of any radiological contamination within Area IV. The Advanced Epithermal Thorium Reactor

2600-417: The coolant and fouling. After the plant ceased operations in 1966, Atomics International was performing work that would allow the plant to restart operations. However, the AEC decided to terminate the operating contract, citing higher-priority needs for manpower and funding, lack of programmatic interest, and technical problems. The site's buildings were decontaminated, except for the containment vessel, which

2665-603: The election over the International Association of Machinists and represented all the employees at the North American factory in Inglewood, California. UAW negotiators demanded the starting pay be raised from 50 cents an hour to 75 cents, plus a 10 cents raise for the 11,000 current employees. The national union had made a no-strike pledge but suddenly a wildcat strike by the local on June 5 closed

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2730-749: The exclusive development and production of the A-5 Vigilante , an advanced high speed attack aircraft that saw significant use as a naval reconnaissance aircraft during the Vietnam War , the OV-10 Bronco , the first aircraft specifically designed for forward air control (FAC), and counter-insurgency (COIN) duties, and the T-2 Buckeye Naval trainer, which would serve from the late 1950s until 2008 and be flown in training by virtually every Naval Aviator and Naval Flight Officer in

2795-434: The first nuclear reactor in California (1952), the first nuclear reactor to produce power for a commercial power grid in the United States (1957) and the first nuclear reactor launched into outer space by the United States (1965). Atomics International undertook the development of nuclear reactors soon after being established: a series of commercial nuclear power reactors beginning with the Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE) and

2860-627: The first nuclear reactor to operate in the State of California. In 1955, the AERD was renamed the Atomics International division of North American Aviation . The Sodium Reactor Experiment was the result of Atomics International initially focusing on developing and commercializing reactor technology by undertaking the design of a nuclear power reactor capable of producing electricity on a commercial basis. Atomics International decided sodium

2925-452: The interest of the United States Government and the general public. In 1948, North American Aviation created an internal organization called the Atomic Energy Research Department ( AERD ) to manage its government and commercial nuclear research and development activities. The Atomic Energy Research Department designed, constructed and operated a 5 watt thermal aqueous homogeneous reactor at Downey, California, which on April 21, 1952, became

2990-406: The mid-1950s, Atomics International was chosen as the prime contractor to the U.S. Government for the development of the compact SNAP nuclear reactor. The number of specialized facilities located at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory rapidly increased. Following the successful 1965 launch of the SNAP 10A reactor, the U.S. Government canceled the program leaving a number of government–owned facilities at

3055-486: The nearby city of Moorpark . In July 1959, the narrow internal cooling channels within the reactor fuel rod assemblies became obstructed by an unintended byproduct-produced organic contaminant, causing 13 of 43 reactor fuel elements to partially melt in an incident . Atomics International personnel repaired the reactor, which was restarted in September 1960 and operated with minor incidents until 1964. The objective of

3120-583: The nuclear reactor programs. These operations included fuel fabrication, storage and reprocessing, radioactive measurement and calibration and radioactive waste management and disposal preparation. As of January 2010, only the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility remains in operation in support of the DOE's cleanup effort. The Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) specialized in the non-nuclear testing of components which were primarily designed to transfer heat from

3185-584: The plant that produced a fourth of the fighters. The UAW national leader Richard Frankensteen flew in but was unable to get the workers to return. So Washington intervened. With the approval of national CIO leadership, President Franklin Roosevelt on June 8 sent in the California national guard to reopen the plant with bayonets. Strikers were told to return immediately or be drafted into the US Army. They sullenly complied. However, when Germany suddenly invaded

3250-415: The radioactive materials removed from the site. Atomics International moved to their new DeSoto Avenue headquarters and Rocketdyne assumed the control of the Vanowen building. The Vanowen building was demolished in 2007. In 1959, Atomics International established their headquarters at a complex of buildings located along De Soto Avenue in Canoga Park , California. The De Soto facility hosted the operation of

3315-687: The reactor which was restarted in September, 1960 and operated until 1964. The company subsequently designed and developed a concept demonstration sodium cooled nuclear power unit for the Hallam Nuclear Generating Station in Nebraska and a concept demonstration organic (Santowax) cooled nuclear power unit for the Piqua Nuclear Generating Station , in Ohio as experimental demonstration projects for

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3380-579: The site. In 1966, the Liquid Metal Information Center (later renamed the Energy Technology Engineering Center ) was established by the U. S. Department of Energy as their center of liquid metal-related research. The ETEC reused many of the buildings formerly used in the SNAP program. Atomics International also engaged in a number of commercial projects. Atomics International built and operated

3445-420: The sudden breach of the high temperature water system (among other things) necessitates a special containment vessel to capture the released pressure. Experience gained from conducting basic nuclear technology development provided Atomics International with the experience and practical knowledge necessary for the design, construction and operation of the Sodium Reactor Experiment nuclear reactor. On July 12, 1957,

3510-749: The value of wartime production contracts. North American's follow-on to the BT-9 was the T-6 Texan trainer, of which 17,000 were built, making it the most widely used trainer ever. The twin-engine B-25 Mitchell bomber achieved fame in the Doolittle Raid and was used in all combat theaters of operation. The P-51 Mustang was initially produced for Britain as an alternative to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk , which North American had declined to produce under licence. The derivative A-36 Mustang

3575-406: Was a more appropriate nuclear reactor coolant than water. Sodium was chosen because it has excellent heat transfer properties, has a low operating pressure at typical reactor temperatures and it has a relatively low melting point. When used as a coolant for a nuclear reactor, water requires heavy piping since at the high reactor temperatures, water is kept under pressure. In the event of an accident,

3640-491: Was built for the Southwest Atomic Power Association at Building 100 in 1960. The AETR was used to test twenty different reactor core configurations by using an apparatus which supported a range of geometries. The AETR program was terminated in 1972. Atomics International designed and built a range of low-power (5 to 50,000 watts thermal) nuclear reactors for research, training and isotope production purposes. This aqueous homogeneous reactor type of low-power nuclear reactor used

3705-435: Was developed as a ground attack aircraft and dive bomber. This was done, in part, to keep the airframe in production as the US Army Air Corps had not yet decided to purchase the type as a fighter. A suggestion by the RAF that North American switch the P-51's powerplant from its original Allison engine to the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine may have been one of the most significant events in World War II aviation, as it transformed

3770-432: Was eventually merged with another division ( Rocketdyne division) of the same parent company (Rockwell International). As of 2010, all of the Atomics International facilities, except for the few remaining facilities located in the Area IV test area at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), have been demolished, cleaned and reused, or awaiting final cleanup. Following World War II, the potential of nuclear power captured

3835-471: Was eventually merged with the Rocketdyne division in 1978. Autonetics began in 1945 at North American's Technical Research Laboratory, a small unit in the Los Angeles Division's engineering department based in Downey, California . The evolution of the Navaho missile program resulted in the establishment of Autonetics as a separate division of North American Aviation in 1955, first located in Downey, later moving to Anaheim, California in 1963. The division

3900-466: Was eventually sold by Boeing to UTC Pratt & Whitney in 2005. UTC later sold Rocketdyne to Aerojet ( GenCorp ) in 2013. Piqua Nuclear Generating Station The Piqua Nuclear Power Facility was an organic cooled and moderated nuclear reactor which operated just outside the southern city limits of Piqua, Ohio in the United States . The plant contained a 45.5- megawatt (thermal) organically cooled and moderated nuclear reactor ( terphenyl ,

3965-545: Was first proposed February 1, 1956 when the local public utility company in Piqua, Ohio proposed to build a 12,500 kilowatt nuclear power plant using an organically moderated reactor by asking to join the U.S. government's small reactor construction program which provided joint government-utility participation. It was in response to the second round of the Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC) Power Demonstration Reactor Program. The six other municipalities who applied were revealed when Senator Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico accused

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4030-405: Was involved in the development of guidance systems for the Minuteman ballistic missile system. In 1955, the rocket engine operations were spun off into a separate division as Rocketdyne . This division furnished engines for the Redstone , Jupiter , Thor , Delta , and Atlas missiles, and for NASA 's Saturn family of launch vehicles . North American designed and built the airframe for

4095-638: Was located at Fallbrook Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard in Canoga Park (present day West Hills ). From 1953 to 1989, three primary types of operations were conducted in the Ventura County Simi Hills at Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) Area IV: Development and testing of nuclear reactors, nuclear support operations, and non-nuclear energy research and development at the Energy Technology Engineering Center. The research operations conducted by Atomics International are known to have caused some degree of chemical and radiological contamination to Area IV. The U.S. Department of Energy has accepted responsibility for

4160-417: Was responsible for developing technologies that would allow the requirement to be fulfilled and for carrying out the initial phases of operational tests. From the period 1955 to 1973 when the program was terminated, approximately $ 850 million then-years dollars were spent by the United States to develop the SNAP nuclear reactors. Atomics International was the prime contractor to the AEC for the development of

4225-463: Was selected to design the plant. Their experience building and operating the Organic Moderated Reactor Experiment uniquely qualified them for the job. As the plant was only in operation for three years, a summary of key operating events is included In 1966, problems with control rods and fouling in cooling surfaces led to ceased operations. The neutron flux within the reactor core induced polymerization of Terphenyl, leading to increased viscosity of

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