Liquid Metal
Development of a compact nuclear reactor for the Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) program largely coincided with Atomic International's Sodium Reactor Experiment effort. In the mid-1950s, Atomics International was chosen as the prime contractor to the U.S. Government for the development of the compact SNAP nuclear reactor. The number of specialized facilities located at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory rapidly increased. Following the successful 1965 launch of the SNAP 10A reactor, the U.S. Government canceled the program leaving a number of government–owned facilities at the site. In 1966, the Liquid Metal Information Center (later renamed the Energy Technology Engineering Center) was established by the U. S. Department of Energy as their center of liquid metal-related research. The ETEC reused many of the buildings formerly used in the SNAP program.