The U.S. Navy attempted to launch a reassembled German V-2 rocket at sea. One test launch from the aircraft carrier USS Midway was performed on September 6, 1947 as part of the Navy's Operation Sandy. The test launch was a partial success; the V-2 went off the pad, but splashed down in the ocean only some 10 km (6.2 mi) from the carrier. Film of V-2 launch from USS Midway The launch setup on the Midway's carrier deck is notable in that it used foldaway arms to prevent the missile from falling down. The arms pulled away just after the engine ignited, releasing the missile. The setup may look similar to the R-7 launch procedure, but in the case of the R-7 the trusses hold the full weight of the rocket, not just react to side forces.
Operation Plumbbob, conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, represented the biggest, longest, and most controversial test series in the history of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). While most Operation Plumbbob tests contributed to the development of warheads for intercontinental and intermediate range missiles, they also tested air defense and antisubmarine warheads with small yields. Operation Plumbbob had the tallest tower tests to date in the U.S. nuclear testing program, as well as high-altitude balloon tests. One nuclear test involved the largest troop maneuver ever associated with U.S. nuclear testing.
Approximately 18,000 members of the U.S. armed forces participated in exercises Desert Rock VII and VIII during Operation Plumbbob. Their leaders were interested in knowing how the average foot-soldier would stand up, physically and psychologically, to the rigors of the tactical nuclear battlefield.
Studies were conducted of radiation contamination and fallout from a simulated accidental detonation of a weapon; and projects concerning earth motion, blast loading and neutron output were carried out.
Nuclear weapons safety experiments were conducted to study the possibility of a nuclear weapon detonation during an accident. On July 26, 1957, a safety experiment, "PASCAL-A" was detonated in an unstemmed hole at NTS, becoming the first underground shaft nuclear test. The knowledge gained here would provide data to prevent any nuclear yields in accidents that actually did occur. Weapons were designed so they could not give a nuclear yield even in the event of a plane crash.
The first detonation contained underground, RAINIER, was conducted on September 19, 1957, containing all radioactive products underground, thus producing no fallout This test of 1.7 kilotons could be detected around the world by seismologists using ordinary seismic instruments. The RAINIER test became the prototype for larger and more powerful underground tests. The test also subjected toughened weapons to the fireball underground.
The tests comprising the 1957 Operation Plumbbob were as follows:
BOLTZMAN, May 28, tower, weapons related, 12 kilotons (kt)
FRANKLIN, June 2, tower, weapons related, 140 tons
LASSEN, June 5, balloon, weapons related, 0.5 tons
WILSON, June 18, balloon, weapons related, 10 kt
PRISCILLA, June 24, balloon, weapons related, 37 kt
COULOMB-A, July 1, surface, safety experiment, zero yield
HOOD, July 5, balloon, weapons related, 74 kt
DIABLO, July 15, tower, weapons related, 17 kt
JOHN, July 19, rocket, weapons effects, about 2 kt
KEPLER, July 24, tower, weapons related, 10 kt
OWENS, July 25, balloon, weapons related, 9.7 kt
PASCAL-A, July 26, shaft, safety experiment, slight yield
STOKES, August 7, balloon, weapons related, 19 kt
SATURN, August 10, tunnel, safety experiment, zero yield
SHASTA, August 18, tower, weapons related, 17 kt
DOPPLER, August 23, balloon, weapons related, 11 kt
PASCAL-B, August 27, shaft, safety experiment, slight yield
FRANKLIN PRIME, August 30, balloon, weapons related, 4.7 kilotons
SMOKY, August 31, tower, weapons related, 44 kt
GALILEO, September 2, tower, weapons related, 11 kt
WHEELER, September 6, balloon, weapons related, 197 tons
COULOMB-B, September 6, surface, safety experiment, 300 tons
LAPLACE, September 8, balloon, weapons related, 1 kt
FIZEAU, September 14, tower, weapons related, 11 kt
NEWTON, September 16, balloon, weapons related, 12 kt
RAINIER, September 19, tunnel, weapons related, 1.7 kt
WHITNEY, September 23, tower, weapons related, 19 kt
CHARLESTON, September 28, balloon, weapons related, 12 kt
MORGAN, October 7, balloon, weapons related, 8 kt
Operation Argus was a series of three high-altitude nuclear tests conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission in the South Atlantic Ocean in August and September 1958. The results of Operation Argus proved the validity of the Christofilos theory.
This theory proposed that a radiation belt is created in the upper regions of the Earths atmosphere by high-altitude detonations. The radiation belt affects radio and radar transmissions, damages or destroys the arming and fuzing mechanisms of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile warheads, and endangers crews of orbiting space vehicles that might enter the belt.
The tests, conducted in complete secrecy, were not announced until the following year. Low-yield devices were carried to an altitude of approximately 300 miles by rockets before being detonated.
More than 4,500 military personnel and civilian scientists participated in the test operation.
The tests comprising 1958 Operation Argus were as follows:
ARGUS I, August 27, South 38.5 degrees, West 11.5 degrees, South Atlantic, rocket, weapons effects, 1-2 kt
ARGUS II, August 30, South 49.5 degrees, West 8.2 degrees, South Atlantic, rocket, weapons effects, 1-2 kt
ARGUS III, September 6, South 48.5 degrees, West 9.7 degrees, South Atlantic, rocket, weapons effects, 1-2 kt
Success for 1st Russian rocket since crash
18 November, 2007, 04:59
A Russian rocket carrying a European SIRIUS 4 satellite has successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It's the first launch of a Proton-M spacecraft since a carrier of this type crashed during take-off on September 6.
The SIRIUS 4 satellite is designed to provide telecommunication services for European and North African consumers.
Satellites operated by the same provider are used to broadcast our very own Russia Today to viewers in Northern Europe and the Baltic States.
GeoEye's launch of GeoEye-1, the next generation earth imaging satellite. Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday, September 6, 2008.
"Celebrate Labor Day The Cosmic Way With A Giant Triangle Of Stars Overhead" 5 minute version
