1980 Soviet nuclear tests

See also: List of nuclear weapons tests of the Soviet Union

1980
Nuclear blast animation
Information
Country	Soviet Union
Test site	Astrakhan, Russia; Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; Bashkortostan, Russia; Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; Khanty-Mansi, Russia; Krasnoyarsk, Russia; NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia; Sary-Uzen/Murzhik, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
Period	1980
Number of tests	24
Test type	underground shaft, tunnel
Max. yield	200 kilotonnes of TNT (840 TJ)
Test series chronology
←  1979 Soviet nuclear tests 1981 Soviet nuclear tests  →

The Soviet Union's 1980 nuclear test series ^[1] was a group of 24 nuclear tests conducted in 1980. These tests ^{[note 1]} followed the 1979 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1981 Soviet nuclear tests series.

Soviet Union's 1980 series tests and detonations

Name [note 2]	Date time (UT)	Local time zone [note 3] [2]	Location [note 4]	Elevation + height [note 5]	Delivery, [note 6] Purpose [note 7]	Device [note 8]	Yield [note 9]	Fallout [note 10]	References	Notes
543	14 March 1980	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 603p 49°49′01″N78°02′25″E / 49.81697°N 78.04039°E / 49.81697; 78.04039 (543)	677 m (2,221 ft) +	tunnel, safety experiment		1000 kg		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
544	4 April 1980 05:32:59.83	ALMT (6 hrs)	Sary-Uzen/Murzhik, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 126 50°00′01″N77°49′50″E / 50.0002°N 77.83061°E / 50.0002; 77.83061 (544)	460 m (1,510 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		6 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
545 - 1	10 April 1980 04:07:00.19	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 181 49°46′41″N78°03′17″E / 49.778°N 78.0547°E / 49.778; 78.0547 (545 - 1)	655 m (2,149 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		8 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
545 - 2	10 April 1980 04:07:00.2	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 181 49°46′41″N78°03′17″E / 49.778°N 78.0547°E / 49.778; 78.0547 (545 - 2)	655 m (2,149 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
546 - 1	25 April 1980 03:57:00.06	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1071 49°58′39″N78°45′32″E / 49.97749°N 78.75886°E / 49.97749; 78.75886 (546 - 1)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		19 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
546 - 2	25 April 1980 03:57:00.1	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1071 49°58′39″N78°45′32″E / 49.97749°N 78.75886°E / 49.97749; 78.75886 (546 - 2)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [4] [5] [6] [8]
547 - 1	22 May 1980 03:57:00.14	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 173 49°46′26″N78°01′43″E / 49.7739°N 78.0287°E / 49.7739; 78.0287 (547 - 1)	691 m (2,267 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		35 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
547 - 2	22 May 1980 03:57:00.1	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 173 49°46′26″N78°01′43″E / 49.7739°N 78.0287°E / 49.7739; 78.0287 (547 - 2)	691 m (2,267 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
547 - 3	22 May 1980 03:57:00.1	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 173 49°46′26″N78°01′43″E / 49.7739°N 78.0287°E / 49.7739; 78.0287 (547 - 3)	691 m (2,267 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
548	12 June 1980 03:27:00.19	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1083 49°59′24″N78°59′26″E / 49.99°N 78.99058°E / 49.99; 78.99058 (548)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		37 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
549 Butan 1 (Butane)	16 June 1980 06:00:00.0	SVET (5 hrs)	Bashkortostan, Russia: 1 52°54′N56°30′E / 52.9°N 56.5°E / 52.9; 56.5 (549 Butan 1 (Butane))	– 1,400 m (4,600 ft)	underground shaft, oil stimulation		3.2 kt		[1] [3] [5] [6] [9]	Oil recovery intensification. 40 km E Meleuz.
551	25 June 1980 02:27:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 127 49°49′22″N78°06′25″E / 49.8227°N 78.10707°E / 49.8227; 78.10707 (551)	650 m (2,130 ft) – 152 m (499 ft)	tunnel, weapons development		300 t		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
550 Butan 3 (Butane)	25 June 1980 06:00:00.0	SVET (5 hrs)	Bashkortostan, Russia: 3 52°54′N56°30′E / 52.9°N 56.5°E / 52.9; 56.5 (550 Butan 3 (Butane))	– 1,390 m (4,560 ft)	underground shaft, oil stimulation		3.2 kt		[1] [3] [5] [6] [9]	Oil recovery intensification. 40 km E Meleuz.
552 - 1	29 June 1980 02:33:00.24	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1227 49°56′55″N78°49′05″E / 49.94861°N 78.81806°E / 49.94861; 78.81806 (552 - 1)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		44 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
552 - 2	29 June 1980 02:33:00.2	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1227 49°56′55″N78°49′05″E / 49.94861°N 78.81806°E / 49.94861; 78.81806 (552 - 2)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [4] [5] [6] [8]
552 - 3	29 June 1980 02:33:00.2	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1227 49°56′55″N78°49′05″E / 49.94861°N 78.81806°E / 49.94861; 78.81806 (552 - 3)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [4] [5] [6] [8]
553 - 1	31 July 1980 03:33:00.07	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 902 49°47′44″N78°05′27″E / 49.7955°N 78.0907°E / 49.7955; 78.0907 (553 - 1)	689 m (2,260 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		20 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
553 - 2	31 July 1980 03:33:00.1	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 902 49°47′44″N78°05′27″E / 49.7955°N 78.0907°E / 49.7955; 78.0907 (553 - 2)	689 m (2,260 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
554	14 September 1980 02:42:41.71	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1220 49°56′14″N78°47′48″E / 49.93724°N 78.79659°E / 49.93724; 78.79659 (554)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		200 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
555 Dynamica (Dynamic)	25 September 1980 06:21:13.06	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: K-1 49°47′08″N78°04′50″E / 49.7855°N 78.0805°E / 49.7855; 78.0805 (555 Dynamica (Dynamic))	663 m (2,175 ft) +	tunnel, weapon effect		5 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
556 Vega 1T	8 October 1980 06:00:00.3	VOLT (4 hrs)	Astrakhan, Russia: 1T 46°45′23″N48°16′26″E / 46.75645°N 48.27378°E / 46.75645; 48.27378 (556 Vega 1T)	10 m (33 ft) – 1,025 m (3,363 ft)	underground shaft, cavity excavation		8.5 kt		[1] [3] [5] [6] [7]	Create reservoirs for gas storage.
557 - 1	11 October 1980 07:09:57.47	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-25 73°20′10″N54°56′24″E / 73.336°N 54.94°E / 73.336; 54.94 (557 - 1)	100 m (330 ft) – 600 m (2,000 ft)	tunnel, weapons development		130 kt		[1] [5] [6] [7] [10]
557 - 2	11 October 1980 07:09:57.5	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-25 73°20′10″N54°56′24″E / 73.336°N 54.94°E / 73.336; 54.94 (557 - 2)	100 m (330 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [5] [6] [9]
557 - 3	11 October 1980 07:09:57.5	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-25 73°20′10″N54°56′24″E / 73.336°N 54.94°E / 73.336; 54.94 (557 - 3)	100 m (330 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [5] [6] [9]
557 - 4	11 October 1980 07:09:57.5	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-25 73°20′10″N54°56′24″E / 73.336°N 54.94°E / 73.336; 54.94 (557 - 4)	100 m (330 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [5] [6] [7]
557 - 5	11 October 1980 07:09:58	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-30 73°18′N54°54′E / 73.3°N 54.9°E / 73.3; 54.9 (557 - 5)	100 m (330 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield	Venting detected off site, 5 Ci (180 GBq)	[1] [3] [5] [6] [9]
557 - 6	11 October 1980 07:09:58	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-30 73°18′N54°54′E / 73.3°N 54.9°E / 73.3; 54.9 (557 - 6)	100 m (330 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [5] [6] [9]
557 - 7	11 October 1980 07:09:58	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-30 73°18′N54°54′E / 73.3°N 54.9°E / 73.3; 54.9 (557 - 7)	100 m (330 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [5] [6] [9]
558 - 1	12 October 1980 03:34:16.65	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1087 49°58′03″N79°01′21″E / 49.9675°N 79.0225°E / 49.9675; 79.0225 (558 - 1)	330 m (1,080 ft) – 440 m (1,440 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		102 kt	Venting detected	[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
558 - 2	12 October 1980 03:34:16.7	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1087 49°58′03″N79°01′21″E / 49.9675°N 79.0225°E / 49.9675; 79.0225 (558 - 2)	330 m (1,080 ft) – 510 m (1,670 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [4] [5] [6] [8]
559	23 October 1980 03:57:11.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 204p 49°44′53″N78°07′36″E / 49.74813°N 78.12673°E / 49.74813; 78.12673 (559)	579 m (1,900 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
560 Batolit 1 (Batholith)	1 November 1980 13:00:00.4	KRAT (7 hrs)	Krasnoyarsk, Russia: BT-1 60°48′N97°33′E / 60.8°N 97.55°E / 60.8; 97.55 (560 Batolit 1 (Batholith))	– 720 m (2,360 ft)	underground shaft, seismic sounding		8 kt		[1] [3] [5] [6] [7]	Seismic probing program. 430 km NW Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk.
561	5 December 1980 04:17:??	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 204-pp 49°44′57″N78°07′42″E / 49.74919°N 78.1282°E / 49.74919; 78.1282 (561)	579 m (1,900 ft) – 36 m (118 ft)	tunnel, weapons development		100 t	Venting detected	[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
562 - 1	5 December 1980 04:17:16.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 111p 49°49′51″N78°06′50″E / 49.83083°N 78.11389°E / 49.83083; 78.11389 (562 - 1)	640 m (2,100 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
562 - 2	5 December 1980 04:17:16.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 111p 49°49′51″N78°06′50″E / 49.83083°N 78.11389°E / 49.83083; 78.11389 (562 - 2)	640 m (2,100 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
562 - 3	5 December 1980 04:17:16.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 111p 49°49′51″N78°06′50″E / 49.83083°N 78.11389°E / 49.83083; 78.11389 (562 - 3)	640 m (2,100 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
563 Angara	10 December 1980 07:00:00.1	SVET (5 hrs)	Khanty-Mansi, Russia 61°44′46″N66°46′35″E / 61.74616°N 66.77651°E / 61.74616; 66.77651 (563 Angara)	– 2,485 m (8,153 ft)	underground shaft, oil stimulation		15 kt		[1] [3] [5] [6] [7]	Oil recovery intensification. 150 km NW Khanty-Mansiysk.
564 - 1	14 December 1980 03:47:09.01	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1086 49°54′35″N78°55′04″E / 49.90968°N 78.91789°E / 49.90968; 78.91789 (564 - 1)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		101 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
564 - 2	14 December 1980 03:47:09.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1086 49°54′35″N78°55′04″E / 49.90968°N 78.91789°E / 49.90968; 78.91789 (564 - 2)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [4] [5] [6] [8]
564 - 3	14 December 1980 03:47:09.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1086 49°54′35″N78°55′04″E / 49.90968°N 78.91789°E / 49.90968; 78.91789 (564 - 3)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [4] [5] [6] [8]
565	26 December 1980 04:07:09.3	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: Z-2p 49°49′31″N78°04′51″E / 49.8254°N 78.08079°E / 49.8254; 78.08079 (565)	660 m (2,170 ft) +	tunnel, weapons development		2 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
566 - 1	27 December 1980 04:09:10.63	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1303 50°04′04″N78°58′28″E / 50.06781°N 78.97432°E / 50.06781; 78.97432 (566 - 1)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		100 kt		[1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
566 - 2	27 December 1980 04:09:10.6	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1303 50°04′04″N78°58′27″E / 50.06781°N 78.97423°E / 50.06781; 78.97423 (566 - 2)	330 m (1,080 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		unknown yield		[1] [4] [5] [6] [8]

1. A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed 5 seconds and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points and does not exceed 40 kilometers in length". Mikhailov, V. N. "Catalog of World Wide Nuclear Testing". Begell-Atom, LLC. Archived from the original on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2013-12-18.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
2. The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
3. To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
4. Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
5. Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
6. Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
7. Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
8. Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
9. Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
10. Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.

References

1. Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000). CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3) (Technical report). SMDC Monitoring Research.
2. "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
3. Nuclear explosions in the USSR: The North Test Site reference material, version 4 (PDF) (Technical report). IAEA Dept. of Nuclear Safety and Security. December 1, 2004. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
4. Khalturin, Vitaly I.; Rautian, Tatyana G.; Richards, Paul G. (2000). "Chemical explosions during 1961-1989 on the Semipalatinsk Test Site, Kazakhstan" (PDF). Pure and Applied Geophysics. 158: 143–171. doi:10.1007/pl00001153. S2CID   128953780. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
5. Podvig, Pavel, ed. (2001). Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN   9780262661812 . Retrieved January 9, 2014.
6. USSR Nuclear Weapons Tests and Peaceful Nuclear Explosions 1949 through 1990. Sarov, Russia: RFNC-VNIIEF. 1996. The official Russian list of Soviet tests.
7. Cochran, Thomas B.; Arkin, William M.; Norris, Robert S.; Sands, Jeffrey I. Nuclear Weapons Databook Vol. IV: Soviet Nuclear Weapons. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
8. Thurber, Clifford; Trabant, Chad; Haslinger, Florian; Hartog, Renate (2001). Nuclear explosion locations at the Balapan, Kazakhstan, nuclear test site: the effects of high-precision arrival times and three-dimensional structure. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (Technical report). Vol. 123. pp. 283–301. doi:10.1016/s0031-9201(00)00215-6 . Retrieved December 13, 2013.
9. Andrushkin, Vitaly V.; Leith, William (September 1, 2001). The containment of Soviet underground nuclear explosions (PDF) (Open File Report 01-312). USGS. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 9, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
10. Kim, Won-Young; Richards, Paul G.; Andrushkin, Vitaly; Ovtchinnikov, Vladimir (April 1, 2001). Borovoye digital seismogram archive for underground nuclear tests during 1966-1996 (PDF) (Technical report). LDEO. Retrieved December 13, 2013.