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• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: Nevada Test Site, BREN Tower Complex, Jackass Flats, Area 25, Mercury, Nye County, NV
• Other Title: Nevada National Security Site
• Creator(s): Historic American Engineering Record, creator
• Related Names:
     U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration
     Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier, Inc.
     Holmes & Narver, Inc.
     U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
     Energy Research and Development
     Dresser-Ideco Company, Inc.
     U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration , sponsor
     Desert Research Institute , contractor
     Cary & Company, Inc. , contractor
     Edwards, Susan R. , historian
     Goldenberg, Nancy , historian
     Nickels, Nancie , photographer
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1968
• Medium: Photo(s): 111
  Data Page(s): 52
  Photo Caption Page(s): 9
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HAER NV-47
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Significance: The BREN (Bare Reactor Experiment, Nevada) Tower Complex is significant for its role in the history of nuclear testing, radiation dosimetry studies, and early field testing of the Strategic Missile Defense System designs. At the time it was built in 1962, the 1,527 ft (465 m) BREN Tower was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River and exceeded the height of the Empire State Building by 55 ft (17 m). It remains the tallest ever erected specifically for scientific purposes and was designed and built to facilitate the experimental dosimetry studies necessary for the development of accurate radiation dose rates for the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The tower was a key component of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission’s (ABCC) mission to predict the health effects of radiation exposure. Moved to its current location in 1966, the crucial dosimetry studies continued with Operation HENRE (High Energy Neutron Reactions Experiment). These experiments and the data they generated became the basis for a dosimetry system called the Tentative 1965 Dose or more commonly the T65D model. Used to estimate radiation doses received by individuals, the T65D model was applied until the mid-1980s when it was replaced by a new dosimetry system known as DS86 based on the Monte Carlo method of dose rate calculation. However, the BREN Tower data are still used for verification of the validity of the DS86 model. In addition to its importance in radiation heath effects research, the BREN Tower Complex is also significant for its role in the Brilliant Pebbles research project, a major component of the Strategic Defense Initiative popularly known as the “Star Wars” Initiative. Instigated under the Reagan Administration, the program’s purpose was to develop a system to shield the United States and allies from a ballistic missile attack. The centerpiece of the Strategic Defense System was space-based, kinetic-kill vehicles. In 1991, BREN Tower was used for the tether tests of the Brilliant Pebbles prototype vehicle at the earth’s surface prior to the more costly space testing program. The success of these tests established the Brilliant Pebbles program as an essential component of America’s space-based missile defense system even after the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Data from the Brilliant Pebbles research program continues to inspire current missile defense system research.
  • Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1470
  • Survey number: HAER NV-47
  • Building/structure dates: 1962 Initial Construction
  • Building/structure dates: 1966 Subsequent Work
  • Building/structure dates: 1970 Subsequent Work
  • Building/structure dates: 1991 Subsequent Work
• Subjects:
  • nuclear weapons industry
  • towers
  • experiments
  • defense industry
  • Cold War
  • bunkers
  • quonset huts
• Place:
  • Nevada--Nye County--Mercury
• Latitude/Longitude: 36.794004, -116.23212443681282
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/nv0475/

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• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HAER NV-47
• Medium: Photo(s): 111
  Data Page(s): 52
  Photo Caption Page(s): 9

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• Call Number: HAER NV-47
• Medium: Photo(s): 111
  Data Page(s): 52
  Photo Caption Page(s): 9

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

   • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.

     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

   • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

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   • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.

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