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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit This short film from the early 1960s, produced by North American Aviation’s Atomics International division for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), uses footage, illustrations, animation and models to give viewers a look at the development of compact nuclear power sources for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s SNAP Program (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power). The film opens with a shot of sunrise over a city. Viewers see powerlines running through a valley and into a residential area. There is an aerial view of a factory (01:36). This is followed by shots of atomic power stations, a nuclear submarine cruising, a nuclear ship being christened, and a missile taking off from a launch pad. The film shows a city lit up at night (02:43), then shots of the stars. Women operate a telephone switchboard. Men work in an air traffic control tower (04:07). Viewers also see a telescope, solar activity through the viewer of a telescope, a satellite launch, and basic animation of satellites orbiting in space (05:28). The film uses graphics and basic animation to show how atoms are used to create compact nuclear power sources by showing how atoms are split. Viewers see an animation of how this is done inside a nuclear reactor (07:46). Particles from radioactive isotopes break away. Headlines of newspapers (and then actual video footage) show President Dwight D. Eisenhower announcing the use of the first SNAP power unit (09:28). SNAP 3 is shown on a table, and then a closeup shot shows how the device is constructed. The Navy’s first Transit satellite is launched in September 1959 (10:22). A robotic arm moves a radioactive isotope fuel capsule (10:57). There are shots of the small nuclear generator that powers the satellite. Someone flame sprays the generator with a white ceramic coating. At the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins, two men work on the Navy Transit 4A Satellite (12:30). The Transit 4A is launched into orbit with a Thor-Ablestar rocket on 28 June 1961. Animation is used to depict the satellite in orbit (13:47). Atomics International engineers develop small nuclear reactors using SNAP power (14:37). Men move movable reflectors that sit inside the reactor. Animation gives a detailed look at how the 1,000-pound reactor works by splitting atoms. Two men look at a model of the in-development SNAP 8 reactor (15:46). The films also shows images of the design for the SNAP 10 reactor. A man operates robotic arms to build isotope fuel capsules (16:56). Men test heated isotope capsules against granite, steel, and concrete at an unnamed test site. Men test a fuel capsule on a test tower, detonating the tower (17:58). Viewers also see test capsules being detonated with TNT to simulate a rocket launch explosion. Two men work on the fuel cell reflectors of a SNAP reactor at the Johns Hopkins laboratory (19:29). There are shots of several SNAP units. SNAP 7C is shown in a laboratory (21:40), then being loaded off a ship in Antarctica. There is an illustration of a family watching television in their living room (23:24), which is followed by a clip of President John F. Kennedy’s address to the United Nations on 25 September 1961. Animation and illustrations are used to show spacecraft (like Surveyor) landing on the moon (25:10), as well as the Voyager space vehicle landing instruments on Venus and Mars, and the route of the Apollo missions to orbit and land on the moon. The film concludes with a shot of space and the stars. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
