The U.S. once built a nuclear ship ... for passengers
The bridge of the NS Savannah, equipped with weather and communication instruments, would send orders to the reactor control room. Meredith Rizzo for NPR hide caption
The bridge of the NS Savannah, equipped with weather and communication instruments, would send orders to the reactor control room.
Meredith Rizzo for NPRIn the Port of Baltimore, a ship is docked that hasn't transported passengers for more than 50 years. And although it stopped only after a few years, largely due to a lack of money, it was successful in part.
That's because the ship, the NS Savannah, was the first and only nuclear-powered passenger ship. And it was meant to show that nuclear power could be used for peaceful purposes. Science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel took a tour of the ship and talks to host Regina G. Barber about why it was built, how it worked and why it was the only one of its kind.
To see more pictures of Geoff's visit to the NS Savannah, including one from 1962 when the ship was operational, click this link.
Want to learn more about nuclear power? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy with help from Geoff Brumfiel. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact-checked by Geoff. Patrick Murray provided audio engineering support.