Why Navy Seabees built a nuclear power plant on Antarctica
Miguel Ortiz
Updated April 21, 2023 12:18:04
U.S. Naval Construction Battalions, better known as Seabees, are famous for their building projects in some of the most austere conditions. Their mottos “We build, We fight” and “Can Do” are perhaps best exemplified in the construction of the first and only nuclear power plant on Antarctica.
Freeze, a series of U.S. missions to Antarctica, started in 1955. Military support to the operation is vital, especially in sustaining the human presence at the bottom of the world with supplies and livable conditions. Crucially, missions in Antarctica need power. McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic research base, requires immense amounts of fuel oil to maintain operations in the extreme conditions of the South Pole. Moreover, this fuel has to be transported to the continent and only during the summer months.
pm-3a reactor core
The PM-3A reactor core (U.S. Navy Seabee Museum)
In August 1960, Congress approved the construction of a nuclear power plant at McMurdo Station. Martin Marietta was contracted to build the reactor named PM-3A. Designed to be portable and delivered by LC-130, the reactor’s fuel assembly was roughly the size of an oil drum. Although McMurdo Station is accessible by ship, it was hoped that nuclear plants could be expanded to facilities deeper in Antarctica that are only accessible by aircraft.
https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/why-navy-seabees-built-a-nuclear-power-plant-on-antarctica/
