Two Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment Reactors Were Hauled to a Visitor Centre at the Idaho National Laboratory in 1988

As part of the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program, the U.S. conducted extensive research showing that nuclear fission could power an aircraft. The research involved a series of Heat Transfer Reactor Experiments (HTREs), which tested if different types of jet engines could be run by nuclear power. In 1955, however, the project was cancelled, and a safe, operational prototype aircraft was never developed.

In this 1988 photo, the two HTRE reactors are shown in transport to Idaho National Laboratory’s EBR-1 visitor center, where they remain today.

(Photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory)