Godspeed BIG E!

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by unkated

Interesting. Not only was USS Enterprise the first nuclear-powered carrier (originally, of course, the only), now she is the first (and so far only) one to retire, prompting the question how?

It does seem a pity that she cannot be kept somewhere as a utility generator. OTOH, it would seem quite a comedown to see USS Enterprise supplying lighting for Yankee Stadium or anywhere else for that matter...

Uncle Ted

The ship is such old technology that the Department of Energy probably would not let it operate anyway. The way the ship was built the system is unique and cannot be refitted without dismantling the ship anyway. Newer ships are taking an approach. Packing the system and constructing the frame members that at a major multiyear refit the reactor could be removed. Reactors have gotten far smaller and the plan is to emplace reactors with excess outputs greater than 50% of the ships needs to accommodate future systems.