All about Starfish Prime, the largest nuclear test in space
If you are an Indian, you must have heard about Pokhran. It is a village located outside the city of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. It is one of the remotest locations in India amidst the Thar desert and is famous for being India’s first and most sought-after underground nuclear weapon test site. So far, 6 nuclear tests have been conducted by India. The first happened in May 1974 and was called Pokhran I or Smiling Buddha. It was the doing of the Indian Army. It was followed by Pokhran II, exactly 24 years later in May 1998 when the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) conducted back-to-back five nuclear tests.
Experts say that countries conduct nuclear tests from time to time to gain practical information about how the nuclear weapons function, how such detonations affect humans and the environment and to stay prepared in case of potential nuclear weapons and retaliate instantly.
But that’s about nuclear tests conducted on the Earth. What about the ones conducted in space? Well, like most things, here too USA won the race. Not only was it the first nation to carry out the first nuclear test in the space, but it was also the largest one conducted. When did it happen? What were its consequences? Let us find them out today.
Starfish Prime: A sneak peek
First things first. The first and largest ever nuclear test in space that was conducted by the USA on 9th July 1962 was called Starfish Prime. It was part of Operation Fishbowl. This high-altitude nuclear test yielded 1.4 megatons of energy in outer space. It was conducted by the United States Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC) and the Defense Atomic Support agency and was a response to Soviet Russia’s announcement in August 1961 that it will start its three-year postponed nuclear testing on space. Interestingly, they had attempted to launch six high-altitude nuclear tests in 1958 but that raised more questions than they answered.
How did Starfish Prime unfold?
As it turns out, Starfish Prime was one of five planned tests of Operation Fishbowl. The first test happened on 20th June 1962. However, within a minute after its launch, the launch vehicle named Thor began to break apart. When the missile reached between 30000 and 35000 feet, it got auto destroyed. Guess what the result was? An enormous amounts of debris fell into the Pacific Ocean and a wildlife refuge called Johnston Atoll, both of which were radioactively contaminated. Following this failure, three other launches were attempted namely Bluegill, Bluegill Prime and Bluegill Double Prime all of which ended in failures too. In fact, they ended up harming the destruction site with radioactive substances such as plutonium and americium that remain till date. But USA was determined to conduct a nuclear test on space, which is why they launched a fifth one called Starfish Prime on the morning of 9th July. The rocket design was upgraded with W49 thermonuclear warhead and was also equipped with Mk.2 re-entry vehicle. Moreover, the launch site was also shifted 900 miles from Johnston Island, near the mainland Hawaii, only 20 miles southwest of it. Fortunately, this mission was successful, and the nuclear test happened at an elevation of 250 miles and it yielded 1.4 megatons of energy.
Consequences of Starfish Prime
The nuclear explosion of Starfish Prime in space was so powerful that it generated high frequency electromagnetic pulse that ended up damaging electrical systems across Hawaii. While afternoon looked like it was night-time in Hawaii, the sky in Honolulu, several miles way appeared to be having a bright orangish-red sunset. In fact, after the detonation, a bright red and yellowish white aurora kind of a thing was observed for several minutes across USA’s East Coast, as well as the opposite side of the equator from it. However, no sound was heard.
Scientists later analysed and said that the test helped them better understand nuclear electromagnetic pulses and its impact on space. It also paved a way for them to map seasonal mixing rates of tropical and polar air masses using the cadmium 109 tracer that was installed on the payload of Starfish Prime.
As for the consequences in space, it formed a spherical cloud across hemispheres (better known as mushroom clouds) and generated auroral displays (from the beta particles of the explosion). Moreover, persistent artificial radiation belts around the Earth were also formed that were helpful in blocking harmful UV rays of the Sun. However, it also had negative effects, for instance on many of the satellites in the Lower Earth Orbit that received radiation damage.