National Security & Defense

TexasTowelie

(116,501 posts) Sun Aug 25, 2019, 02:23 AM Aug 2019

INL pioneered technology that may have been used in Russian explosion. Here's why it was abandoned

The explosion at a secret Russian test site that killed five nuclear scientists and spread radioactive contamination to surrounding communities may come from a technology pioneered at the Idaho National Laboratory in the 1950s.

Or maybe not. The details remain shrouded in a combination of lies, secrecy and mystery.

What we do know is the United States abandoned the entire idea of nuclear-powered airplanes and missiles after thoughtful people asked, “What happens if it crashes?”

The story of the Russian explosion Aug. 8 came out in dribs and drabs with reports of the five deaths, the injuries of others but no radiation releases. Then a nearby city in the Arkhangelsk region on the White Sea reported elevated radiation levels.

Read more: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article234047822.html

3 replies

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INL pioneered technology that may have been used in Russian explosion. Here's why it was abandoned (Original Post) TexasTowelie Aug 2019 OP

Looks like Putin outsmarted himself on this one. democratisphere Aug 2019 #1

Russia actually built and flew a plane that contained a working nuclear reactor in the 60s. Rainbow Droid Aug 2019 #2

Here's the American Project, per Wiki: eppur_se_muova Aug 2019 #3

democratisphere

(17,235 posts)

1. Looks like Putin outsmarted himself on this one.

Reply to TexasTowelie (Original post)

Sun Aug 25, 2019, 03:35 AM

Aug 2019

Then to overcompensate for his f' up he declares he has 2 nuclear weapons carrying aircraft on his side of the Bering Sea. Sounds like BS out of the drumpf playbook. Or is it the Putin playbook? Idiot for sure.

Rainbow Droid

(722 posts)

2. Russia actually built and flew a plane that contained a working nuclear reactor in the 60s.

Reply to TexasTowelie (Original post)

Sun Aug 25, 2019, 04:58 AM

Aug 2019

How did they protect the pilots or stop the plane dumping radioactivity into the environment? They didn't. Most of the pilots died in a short time and after they flew it about 40 times they also gave up on the idea. They used a rigged up tu-95 "Bear".

There's an old Discovery docu about it called "Planes That Never Flew - The Atomic Bomber" which is about mainly the American project but it does deal with the above Russian project as well.

eppur_se_muova

(37,344 posts)

3. Here's the American Project, per Wiki:

Reply to Rainbow Droid (Reply #2)

Sun Aug 25, 2019, 08:32 AM

Aug 2019

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_NB-36H

US and Soviet:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear-powered_aircraft

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