Editing ML-1 (section)

==Acceptance testing==

The ML-1 first operated as a power plant on September 21, 1962, producing only a few kilowatts of electricity. It first reached full power on February 28, 1963 {{r|Suid|p=100}}. On March 4, after the first 100-hour high power test, it was discovered that coolant gas was leaking into the moderator water. The plant was disassembled and rebuilt, and went back online in the spring of 1964.{{r|Suid|p=101}}

The ML-1 worked (though never to specification, only achieving a peak output of 66% of the specified electrical output), but it had numerous major issues along the route to working. Rapid shutdowns were commonplace, often due to spurious sensor readings, while real mechanical problems - with the non-nuclear components of the system - often were undetected until a degree of damage occurred. Fairly or unfairly, it became regarded to a certain extent as a "lemon" by top Army brass, and budget cuts due to the Vietnam War shut it down for good in 1965.