Col. Krisberg pointed out that (1) the performance, both. augmented :
and emergency, of such a plane is set by the chemical fuel and that,
adequate cruising performance could be obtained with a 150-megawatt |
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reactor; (2) the temperatures involved are of the order of 1400°F and
~
aré within the range of known reactor design; (3) the controls are simple;
and, (4) the shield weights are of the order of only 60,000 to 70,000
pounds,
He also noted that operational difficulties were reduced over those
which would be encountered with completely nuclear fueled aircraft.
He
said that the take-off and tanding on chemical fuelalone meant that
(1) there would be no exposure of base personnel to nuclear radiation;
(2) no special runways would be required as such a plane could take off
from a 6600~foot runway; (3) crews could be trained without use of nuclear
power; and, (4) the reactor could be cooled if necessary by moderate use
of chemical fuel on the ground after a mission,
Col. Krisberg showed a slide of a six-engine, delta-winged, aircraft
which he said would woth about 290,000 pounds and wateh could operate
as described with 2 {25,000 megawatt reactor and chemical fuel.
Mr. Whitman asked what would be the chemical contribution to thrust
during the sprint when both nuclear and chemical fuel were used,
Col,
“Krisberg said that this would be about 25%.
Gen, Keirn, in response to Mr. Murphree's question as to which type
of reactor was considered best, stated that he thought that both the
General Electric heterogeneous reactor and the ORNL-Pratt & Whitney
"fireball" reactor would work,
He thought that we should go ahead with
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