Divine Strake

Last updated

Divine Strake was the official designation for a large-yield, non-nuclear, high-explosive test that was planned for the Nevada National Security Site, formerly the Nevada Test Site. Following its announcement, the test generated great controversy, centering on two issues: its potential value in developing a nuclear "bunker buster" warhead, and the possibility that the mushroom cloud generated by the explosion could carry large amounts of radioactive dust deposited at the Test Site over years of nuclear testing.

Contents

On February 22, 2007, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) officially cancelled the experiment. [1]

Background and controversy

The test was originally scheduled for June 2, 2006, at the site of an existing tunnel in the United States Department of Energy Nevada Test Site. It was first postponed until September 2006 as the result of a lawsuit filed on behalf of Native American and environmental groups concerned that the explosion could thrust into the atmosphere nuclear fallout from previous nuclear tests at the Test Site, [2] and was later postponed even further to 2007. [3]

In August 2006, a spokesperson for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a limestone quarry near Bedford, Indiana was under consideration as a possible alternative location for the test. [4] Professor David Sanders, Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Indiana, organized efforts to oppose the test in Indiana. Michael Evenson of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency stated that the site in Indiana was no longer being considered on August 29, 2006. In mid-November, DTRA ended speculation that the test would be moved to New Mexico when the agency informed Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., that environmental studies needed to move the Divine Strake test to the New Mexico missile range would delay the test too long and that the test would be held in Nevada. [5]

In December 2006, the revision to the Environmental Assessment was released, and public meetings to be held by the Pentagon were announced for January. Although the study concluded that there were no health risks to persons outside the blast area, it did state that:

Since suspended natural radionuclides and resuspended fallout radionuclides from the detonation have potential to be transported off of the NTS by wind, they may contribute radiological dose to the public.

The test would have utilized 700 tons of ANFO (ammonium nitrate + fuel oil) explosive, which is equivalent to 593 tons of TNT. According to a draft environmental impact assessment filed by the National Nuclear Security Administration in May 2006, the charge would have been placed at 37°01′25″N116°11′02″W / 37.02361°N 116.18377°W / 37.02361; -116.18377 in a circular pit some 32 feet in diameter with a hemispherical bottom. The center of gravity of the charge would have been at least 20 feet below ground level.

Some media reports have stated that the purpose of Divine Strake was to test the ability of a conventional explosive to penetrate underground military compounds. However, other reports suggested that this explanation was not credible given the weight, dimensions and emplacement of the charge and that the program was designed to test the effects of a nuclear bunker buster on deeply buried tunnel structures. The organization immediately responsible for conducting the test, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, stated:

The experiment is not being conducted in support of any specific existing or planned nuclear or conventional weapon. However, the data from DIVINE STRAKE and previous smaller explosive tests against the tunnel will be used to support improvement of computer modeling codes for predicting ground shock propagation and ground motion.

Effects

The test is reminiscent of The Gadget test of 1945, and was expected to produce a mushroom cloud; however, this test would have been far smaller than the Minor Scale simulated nuclear explosion at White Sands Missile Range in 1985. The test, which would not have been visible from Las Vegas, was expected to shoot a cloud of debris 10,000 feet in the air and result in a 3.1- to 3.4-magnitude earthquake. A leading environmental consultant, Richard L. Miller, believes that six tests conducted in the 1950s may have spread contamination over the area where the Pentagon planned to detonate the explosives. [6] The question of radioactive contamination was raised by two Utah legislators, Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative Jim Matheson, who asked for detailed mapping of the contamination surrounding the Divine Strake site.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ DTRA (2007-02-22). "Cancellation of Proposed Divine Strake Experiment". DTRALink. Archived from the original on 2007-06-11.
  2. ↑ "The Spectrum, St. George - www.thespectrum.com -". Archived from the original on 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  3. ↑ Jennifer Talhelm (2006-08-01). "Feds delay Divine Strake explosion in Nevada to 2007". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  4. ↑ Keith Rogers (2006-08-02). "Divine Strake explosion delayed, possibly moved". Review Journal. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  5. ↑ Keith Rogers (2006-11-17). "Plans for blast on track". Review Journal. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  6. ↑ "Debate on blast safety heats up".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear bunker buster</span> Earth-penetrating nuclear weapon

A nuclear bunker buster, also known as an earth-penetrating weapon (EPW), is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional bunker buster. The non-nuclear component of the weapon is designed to penetrate soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to an underground target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers or other below-ground facilities. An underground explosion releases a larger fraction of its energy into the ground, compared to a surface burst or air burst explosion at or above the surface, and so can destroy an underground target using a lower explosive yield. This in turn could lead to a reduced amount of radioactive fallout. However, it is unlikely that the explosion would be completely contained underground. As a result, significant amounts of rock and soil would be rendered radioactive and lofted as dust or vapor into the atmosphere, generating significant fallout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada Test Site</span> US Department of Energy reservation in Nevada

The Nevada National Security Sites, popularized as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a reservation of the United States Department of Energy located in the southeastern portion of Nye County, Nevada, about 65 mi (105 km) northwest of the city of Las Vegas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunker buster</span> Munition for penetrating hardened or deeply buried targets

A bunker buster is a type of munition that is designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground, such as military bunkers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Plowshare</span> U.S. program examining the peaceful applications of nuclear explosives (1961–77)

Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As part of the program, 35 nuclear warheads were detonated in 27 separate tests. A similar program was carried out in the Soviet Union under the name Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy, although the Soviet program consisted of 124 tests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Chariot</span> 1958 proposal to use nukes to create an artificial harbor at Cape Thompson, Alaska

Project Chariot was a 1958 United States Atomic Energy Commission proposal to construct an artificial harbor at Cape Thompson on the North Slope of the U.S. state of Alaska by burying and detonating a string of nuclear devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Ranger</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Ranger was the fourth American nuclear test series. It was conducted in 1951 and was the first series to be carried out at the Nevada Test Site. All the bombs were dropped by B-50D bombers and exploded in the open air over Frenchman Flat (Area 5).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amchitka</span> Island in Alaska, United States

Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island, with a land area of roughly 116 square miles (300 km2), is about 42 miles (68 km) long and 1 to 4 miles wide. The area has a maritime climate, with many storms, and mostly overcast skies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Buster–Jangle</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Buster–Jangle was a series of seven nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in late 1951 at the Nevada Test Site. Buster–Jangle was the first joint test program between the DOD and Los Alamos National Laboratories. As part of Operation Buster, 6,500 troops were involved in the Operation Desert Rock I, II, and III exercises in conjunction with the tests. The last two tests, Operation Jangle, evaluated the cratering effects of low-yield nuclear devices. This series preceded Operation Tumbler–Snapper and followed Operation Greenhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B53 nuclear bomb</span> American high-yield nuclear gravity bomb

The Mk/B53 was a high-yield bunker buster thermonuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War. Deployed on Strategic Air Command bombers, the B53, with a yield of 9 megatons, was the most powerful weapon in the U.S. nuclear arsenal after the last B41 nuclear bombs were retired in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defense Threat Reduction Agency</span> U.S. Combat Support Agency for countering WMD

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is both a defense agency and a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for countering weapons of mass destruction and supporting the nuclear enterprise. Its stated mission is to provide "cross-cutting solutions to enable the Department of Defense, the United States Government, and international partners to Deter strategic attack against the United States and its allies; Prevent, reduce, and counter WMD and emerging threats; and Prevail against WMD-armed adversaries in crisis and conflict." DTRA is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The DTRA mission, organization and management, responsibilities and functions, relationships, authorities, and administration are defined in DoD Directive 5105.62, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedan (nuclear test)</span> 1962 underground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site

Storax Sedan was a shallow underground nuclear test conducted in Area 10 of Yucca Flat at the Nevada National Security Site on July 6, 1962, as part of Operation Plowshare, a program to investigate the use of nuclear weapons for mining, cratering, and other civilian purposes. The radioactive fallout from the test contaminated more US residents than any other nuclear test. The Sedan Crater is the largest human-made crater in the United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Downwinders were individuals and communities in the intermountain West between the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges primarily in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah but also in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho who were exposed to radioactive contamination or nuclear fallout from atmospheric or underground nuclear weapons testing, and nuclear accidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GBU-57A/B MOP</span> American GPS-guided "bunker buster" bomb

The GBU-57A/BMassive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) is a precision-guided, 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) "bunker buster" bomb used by the United States Air Force. The GBU-57 is substantially larger than the deepest-penetrating bunker busters previously available, the 5,000-pound (2,300 kg) GBU-28 and GBU-37. Due to its size it can only be carried by large bombers—for instance, the B-2 Spirit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Tumbler–Snapper</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Tumbler–Snapper was a series of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in early 1952 at the Nevada Test Site. The Tumbler–Snapper series of tests followed Operation Buster–Jangle and preceded Operation Ivy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada Desert Experience</span> Movement

Nevada Desert Experience is a name for the movement to stop U.S. nuclear weapons testing that came into use in the middle 1980s. It is also the name of an anti-nuclear organization which continues to create public events to question the morality and intelligence of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, with a main focus on the United States Department of Energy's (DOE) Nevada National Security Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underground nuclear weapons testing</span> Test detonation of nuclear weapons underground

Underground nuclear testing is the test detonation of nuclear weapons that is performed underground. When the device being tested is buried at sufficient depth, the nuclear explosion may be contained, with no release of radioactive materials to the atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada</span> Indian reservation in the United States

The Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone and Northern Paiute Indians in northwestern Nevada.

Operation Project 56 was a series of 4 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1955–1956 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Wigwam series and preceded the Operation Redwing series.

Project 57 was an open-air nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nellis Air Force Range in 1957, following Operation Redwing, and preceding Operation Plumbbob. The test area, also known as Area 13, was a 10 miles (16 km) by 16 miles (26 km) block of land abutting the northeast boundary of the Nevada National Security Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazakhstan and weapons of mass destruction</span>

The Republic of Kazakhstan, once a republic of the Soviet Union, was a primary venue for Soviet nuclear weapon testing from 1949 until 1989. Following the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, Kazakhstan became the fourth-largest nuclear power in the world and hosted a considerably large weapon support infrastructure due to its reliance on the Soviet nuclear program as a means to develop its own local economy. Besides the nuclear program, Kazakhstan was also a prominent site of Soviet programs of biological and chemical weapons.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.