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Naval Reactors (NR), also known as the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the safe and reliable operation of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's nuclear propulsion program. A single entity, it has authority and reporting responsibilities within both the
United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...
(
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...
, OPNAV, and the Naval Sea Systems Command,
NAVSEA The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel (not to be confused with "material") organizations. From a physical perspective, NAVSEA has four shipyards for shipbuilding, c ...
) and the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
in its
National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of Nuclear physics, nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the Stockpil ...
. Naval Reactors is headed by the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, who is a
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
four-star
admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
. The director serves for a nominal eight-year term of office, the longest standard assignment in the U.S. military. The program was originally created under
Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
br>12344
by the
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
on February 1, 1982 The director was concurrently assigned as the deputy administrator for Naval Reactors for the
National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of Nuclear physics, nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the Stockpil ...
via () on October 19, 1984 in order to assist them in the research, design, development, health, and safety matters pertaining to naval nuclear propulsion plants via . Executive Order 12344 was made a permanent federal program via of October 5, 1999 ().
National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of Nuclear physics, nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the Stockpil ...

Powering the Navy
- NNSP official website


History

Soon after his U.S. Navy service during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Captain (later Admiral)
Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...
became an early advocate of
nuclear marine propulsion Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship or submarine with heat provided by a nuclear reactor. The power plant heats water to produce steam for a turbine used to turn the ship's propeller through a gearbox or through an electric generato ...
. Assigned to the
Bureau of Ships The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships (BuShips) was established by Congress on 20 June 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) and the Bureau of Engineering (BuEng). The new bureau was to ...
in September 1947, Rickover received training in nuclear power at
Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...
, and worked with the Bureau to explore the possibility of nuclear ship propulsion. In February 1949 he received an assignment to the Division of Reactor Development,
United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President H ...
and then assumed control of the Navy's effort as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch in the Bureau of Ships. The office was originally a joint activity of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Ships. When the AEC was abolished, Naval Reactors became a joint effort of the Navy and the
Energy Research and Development Administration The United States Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) was a United States government organization formed from the split of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in 1975. It assumed the functio ...
, which partly replaced the AEC. In 1977, ERDA was combined with the Federal Energy Administration to form the U.S. Department of Energy. On the Navy side of the organization, the Bureau of Ships has transitioned since the 1950s to become the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), within which NR is Code 08, usually abbreviated NAVSEA 08 or SEA 08. Within seven years of its inception, the organization that developed from this concept would put into operation the nation's first power reactor (the
S1W reactor The S1W reactor was the first prototype naval reactor used by the United States Navy to prove that the technology could be used for electricity generation and propulsion on submarines. The designation of "S1W" stands for * S = Submarine platform ...
). The following four years would see three more nuclear submarines and two reactor plant prototypes operating and another seven ships and two prototypes being built. To date, more reactors have been built and safely operated by the NR program than any other US program. Admiral Rickover parlayed an impressive personal publicity effort and intensive links with the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
into an unprecedented tenure as head of Naval Reactors whereby he could not be relieved by conventional military procedures. He was promoted, partially as a result of Congressional involvement, until he reached the rank of full
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
and held the position for over 30 years from 1949 to February 1, 1982 (when he was retired). The history of nuclear propulsion and Rickover's influence and involvement is substantial. Due to the importance and impact of nuclear power, the AEC commissioned the creation of two related historical records to capture important facts of both naval nuclear propulsion and the Shippingport commercial reactor. Both of these official documents necessarily contain a good deal of information on Rickover's choices, methods and technical philosophy in the development of practical nuclear power, but are not biographies. While Rickover cooperated to provide real-time access to facilities, people and records, according to the authors he did not edit; Rickover was in-fact deceased before the second document was completed. These are: (1) ''Nuclear Navy, 1946-1962'' by AEC staff historians Richard G. Hewlett and Francis Duncan, and (2) ''Rickover and the Nuclear Navy: The Discipline of Technology'' by Francis Duncan.https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/04/f50/DuncanRickoverandtheNuclearNavyComplete_1.pdf The AEC makes both of these documents directly available to the public in digital form.


Management and personnel principles

Many books (including those referenced below) and articles have been written about core NR management principles such as attention to detail and adherence to rigidly-defined standards and specifications, as well as the organization's unique (for government) personnel practices. NR staff and alumni (including Admiral Rickover himself) have often been called by Congress, the President and other government agencies to provide expert opinion and management support to other important government programs, most notably the large scale reviews following the destruction of the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
s ''Columbia'' and ''Challenger''. NR alumni have also founded or led numerous corporate and industrial organizations, for example MPR Associates, Inc

founded by three of Admiral Rickover's leading technical managers in NR's early days.


Program elements

*Research, development, and support laboratories *Nuclear Component Procurement Organization * Nuclear Power School, Nuclear power schools and Naval Reactors training facilities. *Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Headquarters and field offices *Naval support facilities and tenders *Shipyards that build, overhaul and service the propulsion plants of naval nuclear-powered vessels


List of directors

The Director of Naval Reactors also concurrently serves as a Deputy Administrator of the
National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of Nuclear physics, nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the Stockpil ...
.


Notes


References

* ''The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference'', Theodore Rockwell, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 1992 * ''Nuclear Navy: 1946-1962'', Francis Duncan and Richard G. Hewlett, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 1974 * ''Rickover and the Nuclear Navy: The Discipline of Technology'', Francis Duncan, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 1990 * ''Against the Tide: Rickover's Leadership Principles and the Rise of the Nuclear Navy'', Dave Oliver, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 2014 *
Naval Reactors History Database
{{authority control Nuclear propulsion Naval reactors United States Navy organization United States Department of Energy