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....weapons project that began in 1946: the nuclear-powered airplane. It could stay airborne for months and fly around the world without refueling, its boosters promised, and that would give America a huge strategic advantage. There was only one problem. The nuclear reactor needed a lot of shielding, because the aircrew would be only meters away. The shields had to be made of lead. And lead-filled airplanes cannot fly.
Fifteen years and about $10 billion (in today's money) later, there was still no viable design for a nuclear-powered bomber, let alone a flyable prototype. Ballistic missiles were taking over the job of delivering nuclear weapons anyway. But when Robert McNamara became defense secretary in the Kennedy administration in 1961, he was astonished to discover that the nuclear-powered aircraft was still in the defense budget.
Fifteen years and about $10 billion (in today's money) later, there was still no viable design for a nuclear-powered bomber, let alone a flyable prototype. Ballistic missiles were taking over the job of delivering nuclear weapons anyway. But when Robert McNamara became defense secretary in the Kennedy administration in 1961, he was astonished to discover that the nuclear-powered aircraft was still in the defense budget.