I believe it was an idea that came from a roller coaster in Disney World for launching. I had read that the military was taking a look at the idea. I guess they went with it since it is now being used on their aircraft carrier.

Nuclear powered warships :-( What could possibly go wrong?

Well, the U.S. has had nuclear-powered warships since the USS Nautilus in 1955 and, since then, has always had nuclear submarines and carriers. And not a single nuclear incident.
In fact, in the entire history of nuclear power, worldwide, there have only been nuclear incidents at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima. And I know we're all supposed to live in imminent fear of another major nuclear disaster, but the truth of the matter is that fewer people have died from nuclear disaster than from mining/burning coal, even over the same time span. On the whole, nuclear power is far safer than many other conventional power generation methods, far more efficient, and far less polluting. A lot of fear stems from fear of radiation, but the latest studies are all indicating that previous models for radiation danger vastly underestimate the amount of radiation which is "safe." Short duration exposure to even relatively high amounts of radiation is proving to have few long-lasting effects.

The 3 nuclear incidents that are in the public domain are undeniable and led to mass evacuations. Who knows how many others? We will never know anything about that from the secretive nuclear industry.
I know a few more: a plutonium satellite which was deorbited, the Kursk .. a few more I dont remember names. I know a few plants which went near to having an incident due to river floods (Missouri, France). I know another plant built directly over an active geological fault, which could cut the plant in half.
What is undeniable is the vertical rise of cancer incidence in the last 50 years. Many cancers which are now common were virtually unknown 100 years ago. Radiation? Food and water contamination? Air pollution? who knows.
All of the above probably: cancer stems probably from cells being continously attacked from mutagenic factors which eventually overcome the (many!) cell and organism defences.
A big no-no for scientists who want to investigate this stuff and make a living.. so few do i guess. So there we are , consuming happily until the first cancer. Good luck everyone

Can't help but think that an aircraft carrier can easily be a sitting duck (and a nuclear one at that) that is limited by the range of its fighter jets. An adversary that designs and uses missile technology that has a range that is further reaching and at a faster flight can quickly turn the tables around, and I believe the Russians have them. This tit-for-tat war business is going to get us in a heap of trouble if we keep it up. The time for disarmament is becoming crucial, more than ever.

And nobody mentioned the Simi Valley (CA) meltdown of 1959?:
http://theantimedia.org/the-worst-nuclear-disaster-in-us-history-that-youve-never-heard-about/

Good thing it was a plane and not a golf ball.

I guess they're necessary. After all we need more guns and ammo if we're going to continue controlling the world.

This is great! One more system that can be compromised by EMT! No matter how invincible a system has proven to be, there are always glitches to be exploited!

While I think this is good/cool, and a natural evolution of launching aircraft. Ultimately, I concur with "owlbeyou". One hyper sonic missile, and the carrier, aircraft, & firepower, along with thousands of sailor's on board, all gone. It's too easy/big of a target for an enemy.