Naval Reactors (NR), which administers 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's nuclear reactors "from womb to tomb." The deputy administrator for Naval Reactors concurrently serves as director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, establishing a single entity who has authority and reporting responsibilities within both the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA 08), reporting to the chief of naval operations, and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA NA-30), reporting to the NNSA administrator. Naval Reactors is headed by a Navy four-star admiral. 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 12344 by the President Ronald Reagan, on February 1, 1982. The director was concurrently assigned as the deputy administrator for Naval Reactors for the National Nuclear Security Administration via Pub. L. 98–525 (50 U.S.C. § 2406) 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 42 U.S.C. § 7158. Executive Order 12344 was made a permanent federal program via Pub. L. 106–65 (text) (PDF) of October 5, 1999 (50 U.S.C. § 2511).
History In June 1946, the Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz decided to send five officers (including then Captain Hyman Rickover) and three civilians to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to study the potential of using nuclear energy to power ships. The Navy group organized themselves under then Captain Rickover and embraced Philip Abelson's concept of a nuclear-powered submarine. The consensus of the group was that the technical difficulties could be overcome, and nuclear power could be used as a means for propelling Navy ships. On January 1, 1947, Congress established the Atomic Energy Commission and assigning it responsibilities for nuclear reactor plant development. Later that month, Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, approved a program for the design and development of nuclear power plants in submarines. As of 1947, there was only limited experience with nuclear reactors. The United States had three reactors for producing nuclear material for atomic weapons, and five small research reactors. There was no readily available knowledge on operating a reactor that would produce power in a usable form. Developing a power reactor would require new corrosion resistant metals which could sustain prolonged periods of intense radiation, thick shielding to protect personnel from radiation, and new components which would operate safely and reliably. These problems were even more difficult for submarine application since the reactor and its associated steam plant had to fit within the confines of the comparatively small hull, and be able to withstand extreme battle shock incident to the operation of combatant ships. The propulsion plant had to be operated and maintained at sea by Naval officers and enlisted men who, although specially trained, were not physicists or scientists. Although application of nuclear power to submarines was a major challenge, it was generally recognized that success would transform submarine warfare. Submerged operation of submarines of the World War II era was limited by battery power and was measured in hours to a few days. Because nuclear fission produced heat without consuming oxygen, a true submarine was possible, one which could remain submerged and steam at sustained high speed for long periods. Captain (later Admiral) Hyman G. Rickover quickly became the principal early advocate of nuclear marine propulsion. In February 1949 he received an assignment to the Division of Reactor Development, United States Atomic Energy Commission and then assumed control of the Navy's effort as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch in the Bureau of Ships. Progress was made quickly with countless technological and engineering questions being raised, assessed, and resolved. The whole program was a prime example of what would now be called concurrent engineering with the prototype being prepared as the design progressed and construction of the first nuclear powered submarine (SSN 571 Nautilus) progressing close behind. The results were astoundingly successful and a testament to Rickover's style of management and getting complex engineering done. The results achieved from 1949 – 1955 speak for themselves:
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