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The operation consisted of 29 explosions, of which only two did not produce any nuclear yield.Twenty-one laboratories and government agencies were involved. While most Operation Plumbbob tests contributed to the development of warheads for intercontinental and intermediate range missiles, they also tested air defense and anti-submarine warheads with smaller yields.
A manhole cover was accidentally launched from its shaft during an underground nuclear test in 1957. During the Operation Plumbbob nuclear tests, a 900-kilogram (1,984 lb) steel plate cap was blasted off the test shaft at an unknown speed and appeared as a blur on a single frame of film of the test. It was never recovered, but it likely burned ...
Operation Project 58/58A [1] was a series of 4 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1957–1958 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Plumbbob series and preceded the Operation Hardtack I series.
Although likely never achieving orbit due to aerodynamic drag, the first macroscopic object to obtain Earth orbital velocity was a "900kg manhole cover" propelled by the somewhat focused detonation of test shot Pascal-B in August 1957. The use of a subterranean shaft and nuclear device to propel an object to escape velocity has since been ...
On 26 July 1957, Plumbbob Pascal-A was detonated at the bottom of a 486 ft (148 m) shaft. [17] [18] According to one description, it "ushered in the era of underground testing with a magnificent pyrotechnic roman candle!" [19] As compared with an above-ground test, the radioactive debris released to the atmosphere was reduced by a factor of ten ...
The series came to be known as Operation Plumbbob and took place in 1957 from April 24 to October 7. Operation Plumbbob was followed by Project 58/58A and Operation Hardtack I. At the time of testing, Operation Plumbbob was the most extensive nuclear test series held at the Nevada Test Site.
Project 57 was an open-air nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nellis Air Force Range in 1957, [1] [2] 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 .
The manhole cover would then be subject to massive air drag and further heating on its journey upwards. Through no scientific means, my gut feeling tells me that at least 75% of the energy of the explosion would be lost through the aforementioned items, and therefore I believe that it is highly improbable that the manhole cover would have ...