Three Decades of Nuclear Submarine Research: Implications for Space and Antarctic Research

Abstract

Launched in 1954, the Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, ushered in a new era in the history of submersible vehicles. Since oxygen is not necessary for the nuclear propulsion system, the submerged duration of the more than 40 nuclear-powered, ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and the more than 100 nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) now operational is limited only by the amount of food, oxygen, and vital essentials that the ``sub'' is able to transport, synthesize, or manufacture. Thus, in contrast to maximum submerged periods of 72 hr possible with World War II diesel subs, modern nuclear submarines such as the Nautilus and Triton have remained submerged for 60 to 90 days while transiting beneath the Arctic ice cap and circumnavigating the globe. Moreover, ``nukes,'' as they are called, have a classified crush depth of at least 800 ft. Tending to improvise on this point was a bumper sticker frequently seen around New London, Connecticut, in the 1960s: ``Nuke submariners do it deeper.'' With the size of the nuke subs increasing from 300 ft in length and 3,200 displacement tons for World War II diesel subs to the length of 560 ft and 18,000 tons for the Trident came the requirement for an increase in crew size from 9 officers and 64 enlisted men to 16 and 148, respectively, for the Trident, the most recent sub to join the fleet.