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Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States, a joint effort of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Defense Atomic Support Agency. It was launched from Johnston Atoll on July 9, 1962, and was the largest nuclear test conducted in outer space, and one of five conducted by the US in space.
On July 9, 1962 — 50 years ago today — the United States detonated a nuclear weapon high above the Pacific Ocean. Designated Starfish Prime, it was part of a dangerous series of high-altitude nuclear bomb tests at the height of the Cold War. Its immediate effects were felt for thousands of kilometers, but it would also have a far-reaching ...
Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States on July 9, 1962. This test was part of a series of experiments to understand the effects of nuclear explosions in space. Starfish Prime detonated a 1.4 megaton bomb at an altitude of 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted on July 9, 1962 as part of a group of tests collectively known as Operation Fishbowl. While Starfish Prime was not the first high-altitude test, it was the largest nuclear test ever conducted by the United States in space.
The first Starfish Prime launch, on June 20, 1962, at Johnston Island in the Pacific, had to be aborted when the Thor launch vehicle failed and the missile began to break apart.
Of the 24 satellites in orbit in 1962, Starfish Prime damaged at least one-third. The blast blew out a huge bubble of plasma, producing a giant, short-lived cavity in the Earth’s ionosphere. The planet’s magnetic field was completely expelled for nearly half a minute.
The results from the 1962 Starfish Prime test serve as a warning of what might happen if Earth’s magnetic field gets blasted again with high doses of radiation.
Starfish Prime, the most powerful and highest space nuclear test ever conducted, produced a flash of light visible over much of the Pacific. For seven minutes after the explosion, an artificial...
In particular, the STARFISH PRIME test of 1962 injected long-lived trapped energetic electrons into Earth's magnetic fields, causing the early demise of several satellites.
Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States on July 9, 1962. It was reported that the blast had disabled some satellites (around two dozen satellites were operational at the time), including a British bird called Ariel 1, the first ever satellite launched by the United Kingdom.