Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility, Area 25, Jackass Flats, Road F, Mercury

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The Test Cell A facility was a critical component of the nuclear reactor propulsion research conducted during the Rover project for the United States space program. Constructed to test nuclear reactors, Building 3113/3113A, the main structure of the facility, exemplifies a style reflective of nuclear power research for rocket propulsion with the accompanying structural and technological elements. Although the project did not result in an actual flight, it revealed that such missions were technically feasible and the knowledge gained is still part of the space program today. Termination of the project was in Report Prepared by: Colleen M. Beck and Harold Drollinger Desert Research Institute 755 East Flamingo Us Vegas, NV Nancy Goldenberg Carey & Company, Inc., Architects Old Engine Co., No.

2 460 Bush Street San Francisco, CA Date: January Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 2

Contextual Information

The Test Cell A facility was an integral component of the Nuclear Rocket Development Station operations in Area 25 (originally Area of the Nevada Test Site (Figures The NTS was originally administered by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and later by the Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV). Other major facilities of the were a second and larger test cell (Test Cell C), a Reactor Maintenance Assembly and Disassembly (R-MAD) facility, an Engine Maintenance Assembly and Disassembly (E-MAD) facility, an Engine Test Stand (ETS-1), the Reactor Control Point complex, and the Support Area complex. The is reached from the town of Mercury by either the Jackass Flats Road directly or the Cane Spring Road via the Mercury Highway.

Both routes are paved and eventually cross at an intersection at the southern edge of the complex where the 500 Gate checkpoint is located. The Test Cell A facility is located north from the intersection along Road C, passing through the Reactor Control Point complex and past the turnoff to Road J and Test Cell C, and then further northeast on Road F. The facility is at a curve on the north side of the road. The setting of the Test Cell A facility is toward the northern edge of Jackass Flats, an open valley at the northern extent of the Mohave Desert. Elevation of the facility is ft m). Yucca Mountain is to the west and southwest and Skull Mountain and Little Skull Mountain to the southeast and south.

Skull Mountain reaches an elevation of almost ft m), while Yucca Mountain approaches ft m). The Calico Hills are directly north and Mid Valley and Lookout Peak are to the northeast. Fortymile Wash is to the west. It is the largest drainage in the area and meanders southward along the east base of Yucca Mountain and west side of Jackass Flats, eventually joining with the Amargosa River. Topopah Wash, originating in the Calico Hills, runs in a south-southwesterly direction across the central part of Jackass Flats, draining its eastern half, and skirting Little Skull Mountain on its western side until it too joins the Amargosa River.

Surrounding vegetation is creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), bursage {Ambrosia dumosa), blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima), Mormon tea (Ephedra nevadensis), thornberry (Lycium and in lesser amounts, other shrubs, grasses, and cacti. In the area are kit fox, desert tortoise, western shovelnose snake, the sidewinder snake, speckled rattlesnake, gopher snake, coyote, bobcat, raven, red-tailed hawk, black-tailed jackrabbit, desert and Nuttall's cottontail, long-tailed pocket mouse, kangaroo rat, desert woodrat, white-tailed antelope squirrel, black-throated sparrow, horned lark, Say's phoebe, western kingbird, loggerhead shrike, chuckwalla, side-blotched lizard, and desert horned lizard.

Other animals in the region include mountain lion, chukar, Gambel's quail, morning dove, golden eagle, and occasionally, bighorn sheep and antelope. The nearest natural water source is Topopah Springs; however, several drilled NTS wells were the source of water supply for the facility when the was in operation (Space Nuclear Propulsion Office The first of these, and were drilled in and a third one, in when the casing failed on the first well. All were over one Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 3 thousand feet deep. The wells served two interconnected water delivery systems, one for the northern area of the and the other for the southern, with each system serving as a backup to the other, particularly for emergencies, such as fire.

The mission of the managed by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (now the Los Alamos National Laboratory), University of California, was to develop and test nuclear rocket engines and reactors during the Rover project for the space program of the United States (AEC House The objective in the development of this type of nuclear engine was to enable the United States to undertake long and complicated journeys not possible at the time with existing methods (House Schreiber The program at the NTS began in and ended in (AEC Friesen Miller The Test Cell A facility has been determined eligible to the National Register of Historic Places through consultation between DOE/NV and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office and is currently slated to be demolished under the Environmental Management Deactivation and Decommissioning Program (Carlson In the test cell and tank farm were built by Petroleum Combustion and Engineering Company of Los Angeles.

The contractor for the water storage tank was the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company of El Monte, California with A.D. Schader Company of San Francisco responsible for the railroad facilities (AEC 1958a:4). The facility (Figures Photograph is surrounded by a chain link fence and contains ac ha). Entrance to the facility was controlled through three main gates with multiple ancillary gates built into the fencing system. Two double gates are at the southwest corner and are positioned 80 ft (24 m) apart. Both provide access to the two primary roads within the facility. One leads northwest to a trailer parking area and the other crosses the facility to the east and terminates at the test cell. The third double gate is at the south end of the complex on the east side, south of the test cell.

This gate provided direct access to the other trailer parking area. Double gates also were used to control access on the railroad tracks. The ancillary gates around the complex are single gates, used by foot traffic for access. Within are 19 buildings and structures.

The Test Cell A facility initially consisted of the test cell (Building the tunnel and tunnel headhouse (Building the helium compressor station (Building the pump station (Building the pressure reducing station (Building the process piping system (Building and the shed drive house (Building Additions were made between and with construction of the LH2 fill station (Building in I960, and the test cell addition (3113A), the north camera tower (Building and the south camera tower (Building in The tank farm building (Building 3115a) and the equipment test laboratory (Building were built in The camera bunkers (Buildings and the air conditioning building (Building and the transformer house Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No.

Page 4 (Building were completed in The facility was last used for testing purposes in Toward the west end of the facility is Building formerly the equipment test laboratory. Rehabilitated in the early this building was re-used in a plutonium soils separation pilot test project of short duration. Southeast of this location (Photograph is the compressor station (Building the tank farm building (Building 3115A), the pumping station (Building the distribution building (Building and the tunnel entrance and tunnel (Building (Photograph Central to the facility is the test cell (Building 3113/3113A). West of the test cell was a horizontal dewar (no longer present).

Adjoining to the south is an open, steel monument frame structure clad with corrugated metal and a spherical dewar with a gallon capacity for liquid hydrogen (Photograph NV- To the east of this dewar and north of the LH2 fill station (Building were two horizontal dewars that were removed for use in other facilities. East of the test cell is a concrete pad with railroad tracks on which the tests were staged.

On these tracks is the moveable shed (Building (Photograph now sitting towards the east end of the track near the shed drive house (Building Northwest of the test cell is a sandbagged, bermed, hemispherical bunker (Photographs NV-33-E-1 and NV-33-E-2), and a gallon water tank elevated on a tower (see Photograph To the west of the bunker is the tank farm (Photograph an area that contained banks of horizontal fuel tanks now removed. Also present is a vaporizer shed near Building a gallon elevated ground reservoir near Building substation #9 near Building and other sheds (E-28576 and E-29380) on the periphery of the facility.

Trailer parking areas were on the southwest side near Buildings and 3115A and south of Building The facility was constructed with the piping and systems necessary for the storage and transfer of fluids, such as liquified and gaseous hydrogen, nitrogen and helium, liquid oxygen and demineralized cooling water with complex piping systems throughout (Space Nuclear Propulsion Office Originally, train tracks from the R-MAD terminated at the east wall of the test cell adjacent to Building 3113/3113A. Concurrent with the later construction of Test Cell C, the railroad tracks were extended from Test Cell A to that location. This extension crosses the Test Cell A facility on the northeast side with a westward spur into the pad area east of the test cell.

The tracks were realigned across the concrete pad at Test Cell A in order to attach to the addition to the test cell (Building 3113A). Three bermed wooden camera bunkers are outside the fence on a foot arc from northeast to south of the facility (Space Nuclear Propulsion Office Also, two camera towers have been removed. Still standing is a 50 foot high photo tower feet m) to the south. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 5 n.

Architectural and Engineering Information

Building 3113/3113A is in the central portion of the facility. It is almost U-shaped in plan and primarily one story, with a partial second story or penthouse consisting of two separate rooms, each accessed from the roof. The building can be divided into three sections (see Figure representing three periods of construction: a central, original portion (Building an addition (Building 3113A) to the south, constructed of materials similar to the original; and a projecting unnumbered wing of distinctly different construction. The original building was 46 ft (14 m) in length, 41 ft m) in width with a height of 19 ft 8 in (6 m) for the ground floor with a floor area of about sq ft sq m). The original construction also included a single-room penthouse.

The addition to the south in is 57 ft 1 in m) in length, 33 ft 4 in m) in width with a height of 19 ft 8 in (6 m) and a floor area of approximately sq ft sq m). A second room was added to the second floor penthouse after completion of this addition. The third section of the test cell was the last construction and consists of a wing of rooms extending west from the northwest corner of the original building. It is 50 ft m) long and 12 ft m) wide, and contains 600 sq ft sq m). The north, south and west walls of the original building, the penthouse and the south addition are 1 ft 8 in (.5 m) thick, consisting of reinforced concrete. The east wall is made of reinforced concrete 4 ft 7 in m) thick.

This dense wall was required to shield the interior of the building from the reactor tests conducted outside against the east wall. In contrast, the west wing is built of concrete masonry units (CMU). Another safety measure was a tunnel accessed by a descending stairway in the southwest corner of the original building. The tunnel extends for 300 ft m) west-southwest to Building the tunnel entrance. Exterior The exterior of Building 3113/3113A (Figure 11) is a complex mass of concrete, CMU and corrugated metal. Metal staircases, railings and equipment mount on or near the building over most of the exterior, at times obscuring the building from view. The roof of the building behind the east facade is covered with piping and metal rails (Photographs A-l and NV-33-A-2).

The east elevation (Photographs and NV-33-A-3), standing at the edge of a paved concrete expanse, presents a planar concrete wall. The wall consists of a high, irregularly-shaped portion to the north and a lower rectangle to the south (3113A). Centered low on the wall is a rectangular opening, approximately 10 ft (3 m) wide by 5 ft m) high. Ferrous metal groove unistrut strips imbed into this central portion. Reactors were mounted against this face for tests. A two-foot diameter steel pipe dominates the north elevation. This pipe projects at least 50 feet northward terminating in a vertical piece of equipment, called the flare (Figures Photographs NV-33-A-4 and NV-33-A- 5).

Otherwise, this elevation consists of a concrete rectangle with a smaller, setback penthouse representing the initial period of construction, with a lower CMU rectangle Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 6 extending westward. A steel staircase ascends from the ground to the first level roof, then up to the penthouse roof. Steel pipe railings are visible on top of both levels. The west elevation (Photographs NV-33-A-6 and NV-33-A-7) is a two story complex mass. A one-story CMU addition, lower than the remainder of the structure, projects far into the foreground. The original portion of the building consists of a high ground floor. The south mass (3113A) projects further forward than the original, as does the later wing to the north, creating a U-shape with a center recess.

The recess contains a non-original, projecting entry vestibule, and an abundance of equipment mounted on and projecting through the building, especially the southern addition. A metal pipe railing tops the original portion of the building. The penthouse level is recessed towards the east. The south elevation exposed today is that of the addition (3113A), a high one-story concrete mass. A higher concrete shielding wall forms the eastern boundary of the facade, projecting southward approximately 50 feet farther than the main 3113A building mass. The penthouse rooms form the second story, along the eastern edge of the roof: the corrugated metal room in the foreground, the lower concrete one in the background.

A tangle of equipment, pipes and tanks, occupy the concrete pad to the south of the building, obscuring most of the south elevation from view (Photograph Interior Interior surfaces of the building are primarily concrete. Surfaces post-dating the original period of construction may be CMU or corrugated metal. There are seven rooms on the ground floor of building 3113/3113A: a rectangular instrument room central to the building; a radiation effects room connected to the instrument room; a large rectangular flow control room; an equipment room; an office/storage room; and two restrooms. On the second level penthouse are two rooms containing additional equipment. Except for the radiation effects room which is entered through the Instrument room, all rooms have separate, exterior entrances.

Room numbers used in this description were added for reference and are shown on the attached reference floor plan (Figure Room 1 is the rectangular-shaped instrument room and is entered through a non- original anteroom at its western end (Figures Photographs NV-33-A-10 and NV-33-A- The floor, ceiling and all walls are concrete. Double metal doors enter both the anteroom and Room 1 itself. A closed-up rectangular opening used to connect to the test device from the interior, penetrates the back, east wall. Horizontal unistrut imbeds in the walls serve as equipment mounting hardware. Ladder-like cable trays hang below the ceiling. A staircase leading to the tunnel occupies the room's southwest corner (Photograph A-12).

Banks of control-type equipment, including dials, switches, gauges and video Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 7 monitors, fill the room. Lighting includes both metal incandescent pendant and strip fluorescent fixtures. Room 2 the radiation effects room (Photograph NV-33-A-13), is a long, rectangular space located north of the Instrument room and is accessed through two door-less openings near the east and west end of the instrument room. All interior surfaces are concrete, but unlike the Instrument Room, the walls do not feature horizontal grooves. The radiation effects room contains electrical equipment. Construction drawings dated show that concrete walls originally divided this space into three rooms but later drawings in show these walls removed.

The room was lit by strip fluorescent fixtures. Room 3 (3113A) is entered at the west end of the north side through a double metal door. Identified as the flow control room, this large rectangular room is entered through a double metal door at the west end (Figures 14 and The flow control room is filled with mechanical and turbine equipment, some located inside an interior metal framework (Photograph NV-33-A-14). Featuring concrete walls, floor and ceiling, the room was lit by incandescent pedants. The northwest wing (Figures 10 and 14, Photographs NV-33-A-5 and NV-33-A-7), projecting westward from the west end of the radiation effects room, consists of four rooms (Rooms in a linear pattern. They are individually accessed from the exterior and none interconnect.

No plan maps or architectural drawings were found for this wing. Room 4, a small equipment room, is square with a concrete floor, CMU exterior walls, and concrete dividing walls (Photograph NV-33-A-15). The concrete ceiling features uni-strut imbeds. Double doors at the south wall access the space from the exterior. Raised concrete pads hold mechanical equipment including generators. Enameled metal industrial pendants light the room. Room 5 is similar to Room 4 but does not contain equipment. The presence of shelving points to the likelihood that this room was used for an office or storage (Photograph A-16). The room has an opening on the north wall that may have once held an air conditioning unit. Double metal doors access the space on the south wall.

Built-in shelving occurs on the north, east and west walls. Ceiling mounted strip fluorescent light the space. A large 18 in by 18 in sheet metal duct mounts at the ceiling along the north wall. Rooms 6 and 7 are men's and women's restrooms with concrete and CMU surfaces similar to the other rooms in this wing. The rooms feature wall-hung sinks, tank toilets, urinals in the men's room, and metal partitions (Photographs NV-33-A-17 and NV-33-A-18). Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 8 On the second level are two adjacent rooms and known as the penthouses (Figures 16 and 20, Photograph NV-33-A-8). P-l sits over the original portion of the building. Walls, floor and ceiling are concrete, with a massive metal door at the west elevation (Photograph NV-33-A-19).

A concrete curb at the north wall encloses an opening in the floor, with ladder access to the first floor instrument room. All walls feature an abundance of wall-mounted equipment. P-2 is accessed through a single metal door on the west wall (Photographs NV- 33-A-9 and NV-33-A-20). This room has a concrete floor and concrete north and east walls. Corrugated metal forms the south and west walls and the ceiling. Vertical unistrut imbeds striate the east wall. The northern end of the room is elevated one step, with many pipes in the northeast corner. Both rooms were lit with pendant incandescent light fixtures.

Historical Information

The concept of nuclear-propelled rockets was initially discussed in by personnel at both LASL and the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory (Bussard Bussard and DeLauer Following these discussions, the first serious study dealing with the concept of nuclear rockets, aircraft, and ramjets was produced in as a secret document by personnel at the Applied Physics Laboratory, John Hopkins University (Bussard Bussard and DeLauer This document summarized the contemporary information about nuclear propulsion and the principles and problems for developing such systems. What was made evident in the document was that little or nothing was known about specific properties of materials in order to build the systems.

A second secret document was prepared in by the Aerophysics Laboratory, North American Aviation Corporation, focusing on nuclear ramjets and rockets of different sizes for military purposes (Bussard Bussard and DeLauer In the U.S.

Air Force established the Nuclear Energy for Propulsion of Aircraft (NEPA) project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee for exploring the possibility of low-altitude nuclear aircraft (Bussard and DeLauer Larson Work on this project continued intermittently until (Bussard The Lexington Project, an ad hoc study group convening in at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the behest of the AEC, determined the least difficult system to develop was the low-altitude nuclear aircraft, followed by the nuclear ramjet for powering missiles, with the nuclear rocket being the most difficult. The NEPA project evolved into a new and expanded Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program in when the U.S.

Air Force joined with the AEC to develop the systems, focusing primarily on manned military aircraft (AEC In the U.S. Navy also became interested and requested a feasibility study for a nuclear-powered seaplane (AEC The ANP program ended in however, with few results (Bussard and DeLauer In contrast to the earlier beliefs, it was found that a nuclear-propelled low-altitude aircraft was the most difficult of the three systems to develop, due mostly to size constraints and safety considerations. Furthermore, it was Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 9 determined little advantage was to be gained in developing ballistic missiles powered by nuclear engines.

Chemically-propelled missiles had already been developed, and effort and money could be spent elsewhere (Baker General Advisory Committee In the an article by Bussard who was working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the time, on the potentialities of a wide range of missions for nuclear rockets, sufficiently influenced the U.S. Air Force to direct, through the AEC, the LASL and UCRL to study the feasibility of linking nuclear power with rockets (AEC Baker 49; Bussard Bussard and DeLauer General Advisory Committee 24; House The great appeal of nuclear propulsion, as opposed to chemical propulsion, was its smaller size and greater velocity to enable bigger payloads.

Consequently, it was considered more efficient and preferable than chemical systems, particularly in the long and complex journeys for exploring the solar system (see Angelo and Buden 1985:ix; Schreiber In the Condor committee of the U.S.

Air Force Scientific Advisory Board recommended that work was to begin on a nuclear-propelled rocket (Baker House In a Rover reactor approach using uranium-loaded graphite fuel was selected as the method to be developed based on the studies by LASL and UCRL (AEC Construction and testing of reactors for rockets was assigned to LASL within the Rover project, while UCRL was given a similar task for ramjets, thereafter referred to as the Pluto project (AEC 1958a, Schreiber The with a record of nuclear weapons testing, including atmospheric or above ground tests, was chosen as the place to conduct the nuclear reactor tests because of the possibility of an excursion within the reactor, and also, the tests released a radioactive exhaust plume into the atmosphere that was acceptable for the NTS at the time (AEC 1958a; see Bernhardt et al.

House see Friesen Initial development of the in was a joint AEC and U.S. Air Force effort that eventually evolved into an AEC and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project (AEC 1958a, Baker Beck et al. House Miller In the area, about acres, was officially withdrawn to the AEC from the Nellis Air Force Range under Public Land Order (Space Nuclear Propulsion Office The mission of the AEC was to develop nuclear reactors and reactor technology, while NASA, who had taken over the role from the U.S.

Air Force, had the responsibility to develop nuclear engines and engine technology and for the integration of the reactors into engines (AEC Administration of the program was by a newly created Space Nuclear Propulsion Office located in Georgetown, Maryland, headquarters of the AEC, with operating extensions in Albuquerque, Cleveland, and Las Vegas. The primary mission of the at the NTS was to support the Rover project in developing nuclear rocket reactors and engines for the space program (AEC House Miller Initially, three stages were outlined for the program. The first stage Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No.

Page 10 was to develop test reactors in order to investigate and solve various problems in achieving a high-power density, to develop reactor materials capable of withstanding high temperatures, and to generate new concepts for converting nuclear energy into useful propulsion forms (AEC The second stage was to develop and test a nuclear engine for actual flight and the third stage, performed by NASA, was to incorporate the engine into a Saturn V launch vehicle for flight testing (AEC Schreiber The first nuclear rocket test reactor at the designated Kiwi-A, was conducted in (AEC Bussard and DeLauer Schreiber More test series followed, including Phoebus, Pewee, XE, and Nuclear Furnace (Angelo and Buden DOE/NV Table Friesen Following the initial outline of the Rover project, the objective of the Kiwi test series was to develop the reactor technology and design (Schreiber The ground-based Kiwi reactor, appropriately named after a flightless New Zealand bird, would become the basic design for the NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) engine to be flight-tested in the RIFT (Reactor in Flight Test) vehicle (AEC The RIFT vehicle would then be developed for an upper stage on an advanced Saturn rocket, capable of putting large payloads on the moon for lunar-based missions.

The module would also be used for manned missions to Mars or Venus (AEC In late the Rover program was revised, emphasizing ground-based research and engineering. That is, the Kiwi project was unchanged, worked continued on the NERVA engine technology, but the planned RIFT stage was cancelled (AEC Early in the NERVA project was cancelled (AEC Eventually, further budget restrictions in led to a termination of all space-oriented nuclear propulsion development efforts and the entire program was phased out at the end of the fiscal year.

Management and responsibility for the area was assumed by the Nevada Operations Office (AEC Miller Despite this abrupt ending, the significant technological advances made during the Rover program proved the feasibility of nuclear- propelled vehicles and constitute the primary building blocks for future space explorations in the twenty-first century (e.g., Porta Overall, the program can be considered a successful pioneering achievement in the space program of the United States. Test Cell A Test Cell A was the first nuclear rocket reactor testing facility in the United States.

It is here that ideas regarding the viability of rocket reactor construction literally were put to the test and the concept of nuclear rocket reactors became a reality through a process of repeated tests and design modifications. The innovativeness of the Rover program required addressing the functionality of the facilities as well as the reactors, resulting in continual modifications to the Test Cell A facility from its completion in through The Test Cell C design Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No.

Page 11 benefitted from the knowledge gained during the early years of testing at Cell A and, although the facilities operated concurrently between and the ever increasing size and fuel needs of the reactor and engine system tests contributed to the closure of the Test Cell A facility late in After almost eight years of operation, at least ninety reactor and system tests had been conducted there for the Rover program (Table 1). The reactors were assembled at the R-MAD (Figure 21) and mounted on a flatbed railroad car for transport to Test Cell A (Figure The railroad car also served as the testing platform and was placed against the outside of the east wall of Building 3113/3113A on a large concrete pad.

Then the reactor, positioned to exhaust upward, was connected to interior instrumentation equipment and fuel piping (AEC 1958a:4). After all equipment checks were completed, the facility was vacated for the duration of the test. As a safety precaution, all buildings through which the main hydrogen line passed were filled with nitrogen to prevent a fire or explosion in the event of a hydrogen leak. The tests were controlled remotely from the Remote Control Point, approximately 2 mi km) southwest and all instrumentation data were relayed to recording instruments there (AEC 1958a:4). Documentary photographs and films were recorded in the camera bunkers and photo towers.

Following completion of a test and a determination that radiation and gas levels were safe, personnel returned to the facility. If a reactor was scheduled for more tests in the immediate future or awaiting transport to die R-MAD, the moveable shed was utilized as a garage to protect the equipment. While transport of the reactor to Test Cell A was accomplished with a manned railroad engine, the reactor usually was returned to the R-MAD for disassembly by a remote controlled, unmanned engine to reduce potential radiation exposure to personnel.

Reactors tested at Test Cell A were the Kiwi A, Kiwi B, Cold Flow, NRX A4 EST and the NRX A5 (Friesen Taub Kiwi A tests were conducted from November 18, to October 19, (Figure The Kiwi Program objectives were "first to demonstrate the proof of principle, then to establish the basic reactor technology and develop sound design concepts" (Koenig Between November/Of and July of all tests were Kiwi associated systems tests with the first full reactor test, Kiwi-A, on July 1, This test was successful with the reactor operating for five minutes, providing important design and materials information (Koenig Vibrations caused some internal damage to the fuel elements (Koenig Taub More than a year later, on July 8, Kiwi A Prime was run for almost six minutes to test improved fuel elements with the same result.

This was followed by the Kiwi A 3 reactor test on October 10, and as with the previous Kiwi tests, core structural damage occurred (Koenig Taub The Kiwi A 3 reactor test was the last in the Kiwi A series of proof-of- principle tests conducted by LASL. These tests demonstrated the feasibility of the reactors by Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 12 showing that they could be controlled and could heat hydrogen gas to high temperatures (Koenig Reactor designs were modified and the Kiwi B reactor test series began with Kiwi B1A on December 7, the last reactor test run with gaseous hydrogen coolant. The test was terminated after less than minute due to a hydrogen leak in the nozzle (Koenig This test followed the addition of the flow control room to the test cell.

Two Kiwi B series tests were conducted in after repeated cold flow system tests, i.e., systems tests producing no power. The Kiwi BIB reactor test on September 1, was the first to operate with a liquid hydrogen system. However, the test was terminated after pieces of fuel elements were ejected from the reactor. On November 28, the Kiwi B4A, the first reactor designed as a prototype flight reactor, was tested with the run terminated when core material was ejected in the exhaust (Koenig Taub The LASL scientists continued to grapple with the structural problems and cold flow tests were carried out to determine the cause and find solutions for the structural damage occurring during the reactor tests (Koenig The reactors in the cold flow tests contained no fissionable materials.

Systems tests were conducted at Test Cells A and C in During these experiments, it was determined that the structural core damage was caused by flow-induced vibrations (Koenig Taub Structural design changes in the reactors eliminated the vibrations (Taub and were followed by successful Kiwi B series full run reactor tests at Test Cell C in Following the cold flow tests, no tests were conducted at Test Cell A from early October until early December (Table 1). During this two year hiatus, buildings and structures were added to the Test Cell A facility. In the meantime, Phase Two of the Rover program was initiated.

NERVA, an Aerojet General/Westinghouse effort, was designed to provide the technology for a complete nuclear rocket engine capable of flight based on the Kiwi reactor design and technology (AEC In Test Cell A was used for initial testing of components of the Nuclear Reactor Experiment/Engine Test (NRX/EST), the NRX A4 EST and the NRX A5 (Taub The NRX A4 EST was the first test consisting of all the engine components and was the first operation of a NERVA breadboard power plan with engine components connected in a flight-functional relationship (Koenig It was also the first to self- start, demonstrating that a nuclear-powered rocket could start and operate on its own power (Friesen Taub Other initial NERVA tests were conducted at Test Cell C.

The XE Prime was the first engine to be tested, at the ETS-1, in the correct flight configuration, that is, all the parts were put together in the proper sequence. In the NRX A6 operated at full power for one hour. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 13 With larger fuel capabilities and facilities at Test Cell C and the completion of the ETS-1, Test Cell A was deactivated at the end of Having made a major contribution to the development of nuclear reactor propulsion systems for the United States Space Program, the facility remains a testament to the innovativeness and scientific progress made during its tenure.

In January of the Rover program was terminated due to "changing national priorities and the lack of a US agency with a mission requiring a nuclear rocket engine" (Taub The great strides in reactor and engine design were truncated at the point of flight engine development. Additionally, the technology developed during the Rover program has direct applicability to the generation of electrical power in space (Koenig Overall, the program was a technological success, demonstrating that nuclear rocket engine was feasible (Taub rv.

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Page 14 Annual Report to Congress of the Atomic Energy Commission for United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress of the Atomic Energy Commission for United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress of the Atomic Energy Commission for United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress of the Atomic Energy Commission for United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress of the Atomic Energy Commission for United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress of the Atomic Energy Commission for United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress of the Atomic Energy Commission for United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress: Operating and Developmental Functions.

United States Government Printing Office, Washington Annual Report to Congress: Volume 1 - Operating and Developmental Functions. United States Government Printing Office, Washington Baker, David Spaceflight and Rocketry: A Chronology. Facts On File, Inc., New York. Beck, Colleen M., Nancy G. Goldenberg, William G. Johnson, and Clayton Sellars 1996a Nevada Test Site Historic Structures Survey. Technical Report No. 87, Quaternary Sciences Center, Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada. Bemhardt, D.E., Evans, Grossman, Buck, and Carter Nuclear Rocket Effluent Program, Report No. NERC-LV-539-6, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Las Vegas, Nevada. Bussard, Robert W. Nuclear Energy for Rocket Propulsion. Report No. ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee.

Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 15 Nuclear Fission Rockets: Problems, Progress and Promise. In Advances in Astronautical Propulsion, edited by C. Casci, pp. Pergamon Press, New York and Editrice Politecnica Tamburini, Milan. Bussard, Robert W. and DeLauer Fundamentals of Nuclear Flight. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. Carlson, Kathleen A. Selection of End Points for Deactivation and Decommissioning Facilities at the Nevada Test Site Manuscript on file, Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office Nevada Test Site Facilities for Ground Engineering Systems (GES) Tests. U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Friesen, Radiological Effluents Released from Nuclear Rocket and Ramjet Engine Tests at the Nevada Test Site, through Raytheon Services Nevada, Las Vegas. Report No. DOE/NV-401, Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas. General Advisory Committee Minutes of the Fiftieth Meeting of the General Advisory Committee to the United States Atomic Energy Commission, July 16, 17 and 18, Manuscript on file, Accession No. Coordination and Information Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Minutes of the Seventy-First Meeting of the General Advisory Committee to the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Manuscript on file, Accession No. Coordination and Information Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. House, William C. The Development of Nuclear Rocket Propulsion in the United States.

Paper presented to the British Interplanetary Society Advanced Propulsion Symposium, London, England. Koenig, Daniel R. Experience Gained from the Space Nuclear Rocket Program (Rover). Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 16 Larson, C.E. Brief History of the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Project at ORNL. Manuscript on file, Accession No. Coordination and Information Center, Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas. Miller, Nevada Test Site Area 25 Radiological Survey and Cleanup Project Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Company, Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada. Porta, Edward W. NERVA-Derived Reactor Coolant Channel Model for Mars Mission Applications.

M.S thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Schreiber, Raemer E. Los Alamos' Project Rover. Nucleonics Nuclear Rockets (Project Rover). In Advanced Propulsion Techniques, edited by Penner, pp. Pergamon Press, New York. Space Nuclear Propulsion Office Master Plan, Manuscript on file, Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, Las Vegas. Stapp, Darby C. Documenting a Cold War Nuclear Reactor: Attempting Innovation. CRM 40. Taub, A Review of Fuel Element Development for Nuclear Rocket Engines. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Project Information

This manuscript has been prepared at the request of the Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office in response to the management of cultural resources on the Nevada Test Site. It is based on a previous investigation conducted by the Desert Research Institute, reported in Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Short Report No. An Historical Evaluation of the Test Cell A Facility in Area 25 for Characterization Activities Associated with Decontamination and Decommissioning, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, Additional background documents can be found at the DOE/NV Coordination and Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 17 Information Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Technical Information Center at the International Technologies Corporation in Las Vegas.

Historic AEC and DOE/NV photographs and negatives are currently being stored at the Remote Sensing Laboratory operated by Bechtel Nevada in Las Vegas. Engineer and architecture drawings on microfiche are currently stored at the Engineering Records Library in Mercury, Nevada on the Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator for documentation of the facility was Colleen M. Beck, cultural resources specialist, of the Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada; Harold Drollinger, professional archaeologist, of the Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, was the second Principal Investigator; Nancy Goldenberg of Carey & Company, Inc. Architects, San Francisco, California was the historic architect; and the professional photographer was Richard Smith of Bechtel Nevada, Las Vegas.

Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 18 Table 1. Test Cell A Nuclear Reactor Test Runs and Events.

Title Date Purpose

Kiwi A Testing main coolant pressure regulating system Kiwi A Frequency response test of main gas coolant Kiwi A Test of automatic mode Kiwi A Check on R-MAD disassembly bay Kiwi A Initial critical operation of reactor Kiwi A Load dump qualification test Kiwi A Test of H20 and D20 system through mockup reactor Kiwi A Test of H20 and D20 system through mockup reactor Kiwi A H2 flow test, dry run Kiwi A H2 flow test, hot run; hydrogen fire damaged mockup Kiwi A Simulated reactor operation Kiwi A Using Kiwi A control rods Kiwi A Gas and water flow, dry run, mockup used Kiwi A Gas and water flow, hot - helium used Kiwi A Gas and water flow, hot - hydrogen used Kiwi A Subsystem integral test, dry run Kiwi A Subsystem integral test, water flow Kiwi A Subsystem integral test, hot - helium and water flow Kiwi A Subsystem integral test, hot - noncritical Kiwi A Dry Test #1 - no gas or D20 flow Kiwi A Dry Test #2 - cancelled Kiwi A Dry Test #3 - no gas and noncritical Kiwi A Power calibration - critical Kiwi A Reactor transfer function measurements Kiwi A Scaled-down full power run Kiwi A Dry full power run Kiwi A Hot full power run Kiwi A Prime Facility checkout Kiwi A Prime Gas flow Kiwi A Prime Neutronic calibration Kiwi A Prime Cancelled Kiwi A Prime Final system checkout Kiwi A Prime Low power run Kiwi A Prime Full power run Kiwi A 3 Gas flow system checkout Continued Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No.

Page 19 Table 1. Continued.

TITLE DATE PURPOSE Kiwi A 3 Nitrogen flow Kiwi A 3 Nitrogen flow Kiwi A 3 Neutronic calibration Kiwi A 3 Low power run Kiwi A 3 Cancelled Kiwi A 3 Full power run Kiwi B 1A Flow system checkout Kiwi B 1A Flow system checkout Kiwi B 1A Flow system checkout Kiwi B 1A Simulation of full power run Kiwi B 1A Neutronic calibration test Kiwi B 1A Nozzle flow test Kiwi B 1A Cancelled Kiwi B 1A Neutronic calibration and scaled-down full power run Kiwi B 1A Cancelled Kiwi B 1A Full power run Kiwi B CF test Kiwi B CF Dewar pressurization test Kiwi B CF acceptance test (part 1) Kiwi B CF acceptance test (part 2) Kiwi B CF acceptance test (part 1) Kiwi B CF turbine duration test Kiwi B CF duration test Kiwi B CF First cold flow run Kiwi B CF First cold flow run Kiwi B CF Second cold flow run Kiwi B IB Simulated full power run Kiwi B IB Reactor calibration Kiwi B IB Low power run profile Kiwi B IB Full power run Kiwi B 4A duration test Kiwi B 4A turbine test Kiwi B 4A LH2 startup test Kiwi B 4A Power calibration Kiwi B 4A Scaled-down power run Continued Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No.

Page 20 Table 1. Continued.

TITLE DATE PURPOSE Kiwi B 4A Full power run Kiwi B 4A CF checkout Kiwi B 4A CF Gas flow section Cold Flow Mixing Chamber Cold Flow Mixing Chamber Cold Flow Mixing Chamber Cold Flow Mixing Chamber Cold Flow Mixing Chamber Cold Flow Mixing Chamber NRX A4 EST Initial criticality and control drum measurements NRX A4 EST Pressure loop checkout and initial cold flow tests NRX A4 EST Initial cold flow bootstrap NRX A4 EST Cold flow tests NRX A4 EST Neutronics calibration, control drum worth measurements, and low power dosimetry NRX A4 EST Neutronics RAMS set, scaled-down power test, and intermediate power bootstrap tests NRX A4 EST Neutronics RAMS set, scaled-down power test, and intermediate power bootstrap tests NRX A4 EST Intermediate power bootstrap and controls test NRX A4 EST Full power and engine mapping test NRX A4 EST Engine duration test NRX A4 EST Engine duration test NRXA5 Initial criticality and cold flow test NRX A5 Neutronics calibration, dosimetry and scaled-down power IU11 NRXA5 First full power test NRXA5 Second full power test Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No.

Page 21 30 km Figure 1. Location of the Test Cell A Facility on the Nevada Test Site. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 22 Figure 2. Test Cell A Facility and surrounding topographic features. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 23 < UJ O CO UJ a o s 13 5 Q *- o s I y ovoy I o w 4J o z a 5 f-i O UJ '5* 1U z en UJ H< Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 24 3 I I > 5* u4> H fe Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 25 til E . 5 uz ES ZSZE5?B M D Qh-t-PUl-OLlUSOI-l < 9 3ui ? 8 .T3 u 4 1 H I & Cl- io U, Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 26 3 U U< Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 27 I U a t+-i ft Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No.

Page 28 m ON 1 U PH Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 29 6. U I H a Q ON PH Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 30 3 as M < 1 H u & o r-1 0> u. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 31 ^ZL 4 ,t : T *'J T5I7 & ' ijsl ^ "i> o ! ? 1- W;W "CT 3 *= ?* ^ THU^ &z ii ! t t a* S . ' o MS U f is zpgSU ^;_ JU. . a a en .r I H IH <U ti. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 32 Figure 12. Flare at Test Cell A, view to south. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 33 Figure 13. Flare at Test Cell A, view to northeast. M Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 34 2 I2 < CO H H cn en T I en f i i 2 *3 ft <L> P- Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 35 IJ 8 -k te= ; *j 11 b_j !| Is n l n as .s .

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Page 40 U3S'- / f^Efc F,/i?J?r*383i'-t;\ so 'C / cT * / - plae* / 9 ~ --- 30-O' r / x / / .< / / / .z Figure 20. Building floor plan and roof plan showing penthouse, Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 41 Figure 21. Reactor assembly at R-MAD. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 42 a t H 2 >^ o t-l O +- o t! o Si Nevada Test Site, Test Cell A Facility HAER No. Page 43 Figure 23. Nuclear rocker reactor test at Test Cell A.