Project 58/58A
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| Operation Project 58A | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Country | United States |
| Test site | NTS Area 12, Rainier Mesa |
| Period | 1958 |
| Number of tests | 2 |
| Test type | Underground tunnel |
| Max. yield | 0.5 tonnes of TNT (2.1 GJ) |
| Navigation | |
| Previous test series | Plumbbob |
| Next test series | Hardtack I |
Project 58 and 58A was a series of four nuclear tests conducted by the United States in Area 3 and Area 12 of the Nevada National Security Site in 1957/1958.[1]
All the tests in Project 58 were one-point safety tests.[2] They were intended to freeze device designs prior to full-scale tests at Operation Hardtack I. No significant yield was expected from either, but the second, Coulomb-C, a surface test conducted on December 9, produced an unanticipated yield of 500 tons. Shortly after detonation, fallout readings of fifty roentgens per hour were recorded on the Mercury Highway, and, as the cloud moved toward the southwest, personnel at Jackass Flats involved in construction for future nuclear rocket testing were forced to take cover. Eventually, the cloud reached the Los Angeles area where very low readings briefly caused some public concern.[3]
The United States test series summary table is here: United States' nuclear testing series.
The detonations in the United States' Project 58 series are listed below:
| Name[Note 1] | Date Time (UT) | Local time zone[Note 2] | Location[Note 3] | Elevation + Height[Note 4] | Delivery[Note 5] | Purpose[Note 6] | Device[Note 7] | Yield[Note 8] | Venting[Note 9] | References | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pascal-C | December 6, 1957 20:00:15.0 | PST | NTS Area U3e 37°03′00″N 116°01′54″W / 37.04992°N 116.03159°W | 1,202 m (3,944 ft) - 80 m (260 ft) | Underground shaft | Safety experiment | XW-42 ? | 10 t | [1][4][5][6][7] | One point safety test, partially successful (?). | |
| Coulomb-C | December 9, 1957 20:00:-- | PST | NTS Area S3i 37°02′39″N 116°01′50″W / 37.0443°N 116.0305°W | 1,225 m (4,019 ft) + 0 | Dry surface | Safety experiment | Moccasin | 500 t | I-131 venting detected, 69 kCi (2,600 TBq) | [1][4][5][8][9][6][7] | One point safety test, upper bound overtest. Similar to the Moccasin device fired in Hardtack II Hidalgo. Failure, 500 ton explosion. |
| Venus | February 22, 1958 01:00:00 | PST | NTS Area U12d.01 37°11′41″N 116°12′02″W / 37.19475°N 116.20068°W | 2,104 m (6,903 ft) - 30.48 m (100.0 ft) | Underground tunnel | Safety experiment | XW-47 primary ? | 500 kg | [1][4][5][10][8][6][7] | One point safety test, partially successful (?). Similar to Hardtack II Oberon and Sanford devices. | |
| Uranus | March 14, 1958 22:00:00 | PST | NTS Area U12c.01 37°11′36″N 116°12′01″W / 37.193397°N 116.20014°W | 2,068 m (6,785 ft) - 34.75 m (114.0 ft) | Underground tunnel | Safety experiment | XW-48 | 500 kg | [1][4][5][10][8][6][7] | One point safety test, partially successful (?). Similar to devices fired in Hardtack II Mars, Tamalpais, and Ceres. |
- ↑ The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China have not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions - Soviet peaceful explosions were named). A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also named the individual explosions in such a test,which results in "<name> - 1(with <other_name>)".
- ↑ To compute local standard time "PST" (Pacific ST) from UT, subtract 8 hours from the UT. If that time is less then 00:00, add 24 hours and decrease the date by one day.
- ↑ Rough place name and a Latitude/Longitude reference; for rocket bursts, the launch location is specified before the burst location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
- ↑ Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number/units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero.
- ↑ Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, barge and cratering are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT.
- ↑ Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
- ↑ Designations for test items where known, nicknames for particular devices in quotes.
- ↑ Estimated energy yield in tonnes, kilotonnes, and megatonnes (all metric units).
- ↑ Emissions to atmosphere, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it's all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and everything if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, and the maximum amount of radiation released.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (DOENV-209 REV15). Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office. 2000-12-01. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- ↑ "Projects 57, 58, and 58A". The Nuclear Weapon Archive.
- ↑ U.S. Department of Energy, Battlefield of the Cold War, The Nevada Test Site, Volume 1, Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing, 1951-1963, DOE/MA-0003
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl. CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3). SMDC Monitoring Research.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Hansen, Chuck (1995). The Swords of Armageddon, Vol. 8. Sunnyvale, CA: Chukelea Publications. ISBN 978-0-9791915-1-0.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Estimated exposures and thyroid doses received by the American people from Iodine-131 in fallout following Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, Chapter 2". National Cancer Institute. 1997. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Sublette, Carey. "Nuclear Weapons Archive". Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Norris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (1 February 1994). "United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)". Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper (Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council). Retrieved 2013-10-26.
- ↑ Massey, Jeanne; Gravitas, Inara. Safety Experiments, November 1955-March 1958 (DNA 6030F). Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Official list of underground nuclear explosions. Sandia National Laboratories. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Energy.
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