What was the point of Starfish Prime?
According to some sources, Starfish Prime was intended to test whether nuclear explosions in low-Earth orbit (LEO) could augment and expand the Earth-girdling Van Allen radiation belts to create a barrier that would incapacitate Soviet intercontinental missiles launched against the United States.
How many nuclear bombs have been detonated on Earth?
Fact Sheets & Briefs
| Type of Test | United States | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Atmospheric | 215 | 528 |
| Underground | 815 | 1,528 |
| Total | 1,0301 (Note: does not include atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.) | 2,056 |
Who has nuclear weapon?
Nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea.
What is Starfish Prime and why is it so dangerous?
Starfish Prime caused an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that was far larger than expected, so much larger that it drove much of the instrumentation off scale, causing great difficulty in getting accurate measurements.
What was the Starfish Prime test?
Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States on July 9, 1962. It was part of Operation Fishbowl. It was the largest nuclear test conducted in outer space, with a yield of 1.4 megatons. Starfish Prime generated an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that damaged electrical systems in Hawaii, just under 900 miles away.
How high was the Starfish Prime explosion?
Another view of Starfish Prime through thin cloud, as seen from Honolulu. On July 9, 1962, at 09:00:09 Coordinated Universal Time (11:00:09 p.m. on July 8, Honolulu time), the Starfish Prime test was detonated at an altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi).
How far away can you see the Starfish Prime?
Jump to navigation Jump to search. The flash created by the explosion as seen through heavy cloud cover from Honolulu 1,445 km away. Starfish Prime was a July 9, 1962 high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States, a joint effort of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Defense Atomic Support Agency.