Jordan Sub-critical Assembly (JSA)
Operational since 2013, the Jordan Subcritical Assembly (JSA) was the first nuclear facility built in Jordan. It is located at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST). It was designed, manufactured, supplied and installed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) within 4 years, and it is distinguished by its low construction costs and high-level safety.
JSA is fueled by 3.4% low enriched uranium,moderated by light water, and has a plutonium-beryllium neutron source. It is used for the purposes of education, training and scientific research with the aim of increasing the experimental knowledge of nuclear engineering students at the university, and in order to conduct experiments on the ground of the basics of power reactor engineering.
A subcritical assembly (also referred to as a subcritical reactor) is a nuclear reactor that does not contain enough radioactive material to sustain a fission chain reaction, and instead requires a constant neutron source for operation. It acts as a valuable research, training and teaching tool, as reactor parameters can be safely trialed and measured.