October 26, 2007 & April 25, 2008
wevigilo April 15th, 2008
DEADLY WARSHIPS
PROWL THE SEAS
WITH NUCLEAR ENGINES
LOCKHEED OVERSEES
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) is owned by the US Department of Energy (DoE). Its operation is contracted to KAPL, Inc., which is a wholly-owned company of Lockheed Martin.
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory performs research and development for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, a joint energy program of the Navy and the DoE, charged with researching, designing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the reactors in America’s nuclear-powered fleet. The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has been producing shipboard nuclear reactors for submarine and surface ship propulsion for over 50 years.
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory is one of two DoE laboratories supporting the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. It is their task to develop cutting edge nuclear propulsion technology. KAPL has two main sites in upstate New York – one at Niskayona, and the other at West Milton. It also has small contingents to support nuclear-powered warships at shipyards located in Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Virginia, and Washington State.
Niskayona is the main site where research, design, and development takes place. West Milton is the site of four prototypes of shipboard pressurized-water reactors. This is where KAPL trains officers and enlisted personnel to operate the shipboard powerplants.
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory began with the Manhattan Project. On 15 May 1946 a contract began with General Electric (GE) to operate KAPL which at that time was conducting research and development for the nuclear powerplant project. In 1950 that project was converted to a naval nuclear propulsion project, still operated by GE. The first nuclear-powered submarine – the USS Nautilus, was launched on 21 January 1954.
In April 1993 the subsidiary of GE that operated KAPL merged with Martin Marietta, which then took over KAPL operation. When Martin Marietta merged with Lockheed two years later, Lockheed Martin became the operator of KAPL.
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REFERENCES
Global Security Website: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/facility/knolls_s.htm
KAPL, Inc. website: http://www.kaplinc.com
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory website: http://www.kapl.gov
Wikipedia; “Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knolls_Atomic_Power_Laboratory