The USAF and the US Commission for Atomic Energy selected the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory to carry out the "Project Pluto".

-This was an engine running on atomic-energy for a SLAM (Supersonic Low Altitude Missile) vehicle to hit targets in the then Soviet Union.

-The result were the "Tory" engines already mentioned in the Lawrence chapter.

-They were engines running under the ram effect (ramjets) and therefore operating within the atmosphere.

-The last development was the "Tory IIC" whose prototype is shown below.

“Tory IIC prototype”

-The Pluto Project started in 1957 and was canceled in 1964.