The nuclear power assigned to Thunderbirds vehicles creates a further problem for their enclosed hangars. Their reactors would need temperature control and a route for waste heat to leave the parked craft. The proposed solution is an island heat-exchange system with coolant connections that attach in the hangar and disconnect before departure. Rapid readiness is expected to require a high reactor idle temperature, making a secondary cooling loop especially important. Those connections add another set of mechanisms to prepare and release during a launch.
Notable Point · 3:45:58-3:49:50
Why nuclear Thunderbirds would need cooling connections in their hangars
A reactor ready for a quick departure still has to lose heat while parked, adding coolant connections to Tracy Island's launch machinery.