KCNSC Rocket Launches at the Nevada National Security Sites.

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A 01 Machine Shop's New Horizontal Mill

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CTOS - KEEPING AMERICAN CITIES SAFE. PREPARE FOR THE WORST… TRAIN WITH THE BEST

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NA-1 ECERG Video

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STEM SATURDAYS - POWERED BY NNSS

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The Area 6 Batch and Shaker Plant

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NNSS FIRE & RESCUE SHOW STUDENTS HOW STEM SKILLS HELP THEM KEEP THE NNSS SAFE

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NNSS Now Hiring Interns for Summer 2024!

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U1a Underground Infrastructure

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UNLV-RSL Robotics and UAS testing

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EMNV Project Update | Test Cell C (TCC) Demolition Update

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32nd Annual Nevada Science Bowl

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EMNV Project Update: EMAD Facility Demolition (Asbestos Removal Activities)

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Excerpts from Operation Hardtack

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,The awesome force of even small atomic blasts was clearly demonstrated in the first two of six tests shown in this silent montage of films taken during Operation Hardtack I. The tests WAHOO, UMBRELLA, TEAK, QUINCE, ORANGE, and FIG were conducted in the Pacific Proving Ground between May and August 1958. WAHOO (9 kilotons) and UMBRELLA (8 kilotons) were underwater tests conducted near Enewetak Atoll on May 16 and June 8, respectively. Target arrays of ships and submarines were moored nearby to test the effects of the blasts. Each test resulted in spectacular plumes of water rising upwards of 1,000 feet. The radioactive clouds produced by the shots engulfed the target ships. The ships appeared tiny when compared with the giant clouds. The force of the blasts sent violent waves crashing onto the Atoll, leaving debris-strewn beaches. "Are you still there?" was the first radio transmission received at Johnston Island hours after the TEAK thermonuclear test on August 1, 1958. The 3.8 megaton, 77-kilometer-high blast triggered an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which stopped radio communications throughout that large area of the Pacific. The EMP was so severe that military and civilian aircraft had to be grounded in Hawaii. The TEAK fireball could be seen as far away as Oahu Island, approximately 525 nautical miles from Johnston Island. Eyewitnesses said the colorful display rivaled the "Southern Lights," also referred to as the Aurora Australis. Several scientists viewing the test had to duck into a shelter quickly because an error with the launch vehicle, a Redstone rocket, caused it to detonate directly over Johnston Island instead of 20 miles down range. On August 12, 1958, a second thermonuclear test of 3.8 megatons, ORANGE, was conducted in the Johnston Island area, this time at an altitude of 43 kilometers. It was less spectacular than the TEAK test and had little effect on radio communications and electrical systems in that broad area of the Pacific. The Atomic Energy Commissions University of California Radiation Laboratory and the Department of Defenses Special Weapons Project jointly conducted a cratering experiment on Yvonne Island on Enewetak Atoll. The QUINCE test malfunctioned on August 6, 1958, resulting in a zero yield. This necessitated the execution of the 20-ton FIG test, conducted as a replacement on August 18, 1958.

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Operation Hardtack - Military Effects Studies Part 4

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,Operation Hardtack II was a 37-test continental series conducted from September 12 to October 30, 1958, at the Nevada Test Site. Addressing the concerns about fallout from atmospheric tests, more than a third of the Hardtack II tests were conducted underground and had yields that did not exceed 22 kilotons. When the Hardtack series concluded, test ban negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union were underway in Geneva. These negotiations resulted in a testing moratorium from late 1958 until September 1961. Hardtack II personnel tested nuclear devices for possible inclusion in the nuclear stockpile; evaluated safety features of nuclear devices; and evaluated containment techniques for underground detonations. The safety experiments were designed to determine the stability of nuclear devices during transportation and storage. The tests comprising the 1958 Operation Hardtack II were as follows: OTERO, September 12, shaft, safety experiment, 38 tons BERNALILLO, September 17, shaft, safety experiment, 15 tons EDDY, September 19, balloon, weapons related, 83 tons LUNA, September 21, shaft, safety experiment, 1.5 tons MERCURY, September 23, tunnel, safety experiment, slight yield VALENCIA, September 26, shaft, safety experiment, 2 tons MARS, September 28, tunnel, safety experiment, 13 tons MORA, September 29, balloon, weapons related, 2 kilotons (kt) COLFAX, October 5, shaft, safety experiment, 5.5 tons HIDALGO, October 5, balloon, safety experiment, 77 tons TAMALPAIS, October 8, tunnel, weapons related, 72 tons QUAY, October 10, tower, weapons related, 79 tons LEA, October 13, balloon, weapons related, 1.4 kt NEPTUNE, October 14, tunnel, safety experiment, 115 tons HAMILTON, October 15, tower, weapons related, 1.2 tons LOGAN, October 16, tunnel, weapons related, 5 kt DONA ANA, October 16, balloon, weapons related, 37 tons VESTA, October 17, surface, safety experiment, 24 tons RIO ARRIBA, October 18, tower, weapons related, 90 tons SAN JUAN, October 20, shaft, safety experiment, zero yield SOCORRO, October 22, balloon, weapons related, 6 kt WRANGELL, October 22, balloon, weapons related, 115 tons RUSHMORE, October 22, balloon, weapons related, 188 tons OBERON, October 22, tower, safety experiment, zero yield CATRON, October 24, tower, safety experiment, 21 tons JUNO, October 24, surface, safety experiment, 1.7 tons CERES, October 26, tower, safety experiment, 0.7 tons SANFORD, October 26, balloon, weapons related, 4.9 kt DE BACA, October 26, balloon, weapons related, 2.2 kt CHAVEZ, October 27, tower, safety experiment, 0.6 tons EVANS, October 29, tunnel, weapons related, 55 tons HUMBOLDT, October 29, tower, weapons related, 7.8 tons MAZAMA, October 29, tower, weapons related, zero yield SANTA FE, October 30, balloon, weapons related, 1.3 kt BLANCA, October 30, tunnel, weapons related, 22 kt GANYMEDE, October 30, surface, safety experiment, zero yield TITANIA, October 30, tower, safety experiment, 0.2 tons

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Operation Hardtack - Military Effects Studies Part 2

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,Operation Hardtack I consisted of 35 nuclear tests conducted at the Pacific Proving Ground between April 28 and August 18, 1958. These tests included balloon, surface, barge, underwater, and rocket-borne high-altitude tests. The first test, YUCCA, was a nuclear device attached to a helium balloon launched from the USS Boxer near Enewetak Atoll. Hardtack I consisted of three portions; the first was the development of nuclear weapons. This was a continuation of the type of testing conducted at Enewetak and Bikini during the early and mid-1950s. In these tests, the weapons development laboratories, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and the University of California Radiation Laboratory, detonated their experimental devices, while the Department of Defense (DoD) provided support and conducted experiments that did not interfere with Atomic Energy Commission activities. The second portion, sponsored by DoD, consisted of the underwater tests WAHOO and UMBRELLA. WAHOO was detonated in the open ocean and UMBRELLA in the lagoon at Enewetak. The purpose of these tests was to improve the understanding of the effects of underwater explosions on Navy ships and material. These were continuations of earlier underwater testing that included BAKER in Crossroads at Bikini in 1946 and WIGWAM off the U.S. West Coast in 1955. The DoD also sponsored the third portion, addressing the military problems of air-borne nuclear weapon defense. Three high-altitude tests featured rocket-borne TEAK and ORANGE at Johnston Island and balloon-hoisted YUCCA between Enewetak and Bikini. Two major aspects of Hardtack Is experimental program were the development of the weapons themselves and the measurement of the explosive and radiation effects. Also, since the development of a nuclear armed fleet ballistic missile was on a fast track, a portion of Hardtack I was devoted to testing the warhead for the Polaris missile. The tests comprising the 1958 Operation Hardtack I were as follows: YUCCA, April 28, Pacific (between Enewetak and Bikini), balloon, weapons effects, 1.7 kilotons (kt) CACTUS, May 5, Enewetak, surface, weapons related, 18 kt FIR, May 11, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 1.36 megatons (Mt) BUTTERNUT, May 11, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 81 kt KOA, May 12, Enewetak, surface, weapons related, l.37 Mt WAHOO, May 16, near Enewetak, underwater, weapons effects, 9 kt HOLLY, May 20, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 5.9 kt NUTMEG, May 21, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 25.1 kt YELLOWWOOD, May 26, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 330 kt MAGNOLIA, May 26, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 57 kt TOBACCO, May 30, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 11.6 kt SYCAMORE, May 31, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 92 kt ROSE, June 2, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 15 kt UMBRELLA, June 8, near Enewetak, underwater, weapons effects, 8 kt MAPLE, June 10, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 213 kt ASPEN, June 14, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 319 kt WALNUT, June 14, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 1.45 Mt LINDEN, June 18, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 11 kt REDWOOD, June 27, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 412 kt ELDER, June 27, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 880 kt OAK, June 28, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 8.9 Mt HICKORY, June 29, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 14 kt SEQUOIA, July 1, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 5.2 kt CEDAR, July 2, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 220 kt DOGWOOD, July 5, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 397 kt POPLAR, July 12, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 9.3 Mt SCAEVOLA, July 14, near Enewetak, barge, safety experiment, zero yield PISONIA, July 17, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 255 kt JUNIPER, July 22, near Bikini, barge, weapons related, 65 kt OLIVE, July 22, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 202 kt PINE, July 26, near Enewetak, barge, weapons related, 2 Mt TEAK, August 1, off Johnston Island area, rocket, weapons effects, 3.8 Mt QUINCE, August 6, Enewetak, surface, weapons related, zero yield ORANGE, August 12, off Johnston Island area, rocket, weapons effects, 3.8 Mt FIG, August 18, Enewetak, surface, weapons related, 20 tons