Project Halitosis was a 1965 undertaking by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

to study the amount of radioactive gases released from their experimental nuclear-powered bomber program. The heavily modified

NB-36H The Convair NB-36H was an experimental aircraft that carried a nuclear reactor. It was nicknamed "The Crusader". It was created for the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program, or the ANP, to show the feasibility of a Nuclear-powered aircraft, nucle ...

bomber contained a small, open-circuit

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

to test the physical and radiological stresses it placed on the airframe and was not used for power. The radioactive gases released from the air-cooled reactor gave the program its "

bad breath Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is a symptom in which a noticeably unpleasant breath odour is present. It can result in anxiety among those affected. It is also associated with depression and symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder. Th ...

" reference. The project was part of the U.S. Air Force's Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion project which operated between 1950 and 1967.

External links

Cortright, Vincent, "Dream of Atomic Powered Flight", ''Aviation History'', March 1995
Projects of the United States Air Force Nuclear history of the United States {{USAF-stub