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Operation Argus

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"Project Argus" redirects here. For the project to search for extraterrestrial intelligence, seeProject Argus (SETI).

Operation Argus
X-17 with nuclear warhead launched from aboard the USSNorton Sound
Information
CountryUnited States
Test siteSouth Atlantic Ocean
Period1958
Number of tests3
Test typespace rocket (> 80 km)
Max. yield1.7kilotonnes of TNT(7.1 TJ)
Test series chronology
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Operation Arguswas a series of United States low-yield, high-altitudenuclear weapons testsandmissiletests secretly conducted from 27 August to 9 September 1958 over theSouth Atlantic Ocean.[1][2]The tests were performed by theDefense Nuclear Agency.

The tests were to study theChristofilos effect,which suggested it was possible to defend against Soviet nuclear missiles by exploding a small number of nuclear bombs high over the South Pacific. This would create a disk ofelectronsover the United States that would overload the electronics on the Soviet warheads as they descended. It was also possible to use the effect to blind Sovietradars,meaning that anySoviet missile-based ABM systemwould be unable to attack the US counterstrike.

The tests demonstrated that the effect did occur, but that it dissipated too rapidly to be very effective. Papers concerning the topic were published the next year, emphasizing the events as purely scientific endeavors.

Objectives[edit]

The tests were proposed byNicholas Christofilosin an unpublished paper[3]of what was then the Livermore branch of theLawrence Radiation Laboratory(nowLawrence Livermore National Laboratory) as a means to verify theChristofilos effect,which argued that high-altitude nuclear detonations would create a radiation belt in the extreme upper regions of the Earth's atmosphere.[4]Such belts would be similar in effect to theVan Allen radiation belts."Such radiation belts were viewed as having possible tactical use in war, including degradation of radio and radar transmissions, damage or destruction of the arming and fuzing mechanisms of ICBM warheads, and endangering the crews of orbitingspace vehiclesthat might enter the belt. "[2]Prior to Argus,Hardtack Teakhad shown disruption of radio communications from a nuclear blast, though this was not due to the creation ofradiation belts.

Arguswas implemented rapidly after inception due to forthcoming bans on atmospheric and exoatmospheric testing in October 1958.[1]Consequently, the tests were performed within a mere half-year of conception (whereas "normal" testing took one to two years).[5]Because nuclear testing during this time was arguably a violation of the rules, the military borrowed International Geophysical Year equipment to disguise thenuclear tests.[1]

  • Two missiles, with warheads 136–227 kg to be launched within one month of each other, originating from a single site.
  • The missiles were to be detonated at altitudes of 200–1,000 miles (320–1,610 km), and also at 2,000–4,000 miles (3,200–6,400 km). Both detonations should occur near thegeomagnetic equator.
  • Satellites were to be placed in equatorial (up to 30°) and polar (up to 70°) orbits, withperigeesof roughly 322 kilometers (200 mi) and apogees of roughly 2,900 kilometers (1,800 mi) or greater. Thesesatelliteswere to be used to measureelectron densityover time, and include amagnetometer,as well as a means for measuring ambientradio noise.Measurements were to be taken before the shots to determine a baseline, as well as during and after the events.
  • Sounding rockets,launched from appropriate ground locations, were to carry the same instrumentation as the satellites, except for radio noise. Ground stations to be used to study effects on radio astronomy and radar probing as well as auroral measurements.

OriginallyArguswas designatedHardtack-Argus,and laterFloral.For reasons of security, both names were disused in favor of the independent nameArgus.

Funding was provided by theArmed Forces Special Weapons Project(AFSWP), the predecessor of the presentDefense Threat Reduction Agency(DTRA). Total funds allotted for the project wereUS$9,023,000.

Task Force 88[edit]

Path of TF-88 during August and September 1958.

TheUnited States NavyTask Force 88 (or TF-88), was formed 28 April 1958. TF-88 was organized solely to conductOperation Argus.OnceArguswas completed, the task force was dissolved, and its records dispersed. Some of these records have been destroyed or lost during the time period intervening. Of particular note among the missing documents were the film records (which recorded radiation levels during theArgustests). This has proved contentious due to the greater-than-normal number ofleukemiaclaims among TF-88 participants to theVeterans Administration.Because of this, it has been difficult to resolve to how much radiation the participants were exposed.

USSNorton Sound[edit]

USSNorton Soundwas aUnited States Navy-guided missile ship responsible for missile-launching functions. It also served as a training facility for crews involved in the testing. TheX-17A missilesto be used in the test were unfamiliar to those conducting the tests. Exercises including assembly and repair of dummy missiles were performed aboardNorton Sound.It also carried a 27-MHzCOZIradar, which was operated byAir ForceCambridge Research Center,which was used to monitor effects of the shots. It was responsible for the launching of three low-yield nuclear warheads into the highatmosphere.[1]Its commanding officer, CaptainArthur R. Gralla,commanded Task Force 88.[6]Gralla would later receive theLegion of Meritfor his role conducting the tests expeditiously.[7]

USSAlbemarle[edit]

USSAlbemarle,fresh out of anoverhaul,was not listed on the TF-88 order. It set out to theAtlantic Ocean,supposedly as a shakedown cruise. It, too, had a COZI radar and other instrumentation for detecting man-madeionization.This instrumentation includedInternational Geophysical Year(IGY)radiometers,receivers,radar,and optical equipment. After the IGY equipment was added, it sailed to the ocean around the area of the Azores to record data at thegeomagneticconjugate pointof the South Atlantic test site, as the rest of task force 88 headed to the South Atlantic to perform the tests.[1]

USSTarawa[edit]

USSTarawaserved as overall command of the operation, with her commander serving as Task Group Commander. It carried anAir ForceMSQ-1Aradar and communication system for missile tracking. It also housedVS-32aircraft for search and security operations as well as scientific measurement, photographic, and observer missions for each test.HS-5was also aboard and provided intra-task-force transportation for personnel and cargo.

USSWarrington[edit]

USSWarrington,in conjunction withBearss,Hammerberg,andCourtney,maintained a weatherpicket463 km west of the task force, provided an airplane guard forTarawaduringflight operations,and performed standard destroyer functions (such as surface security and search and rescue).Warringtonalso carried equipment for launchingLoki Dartsounding rockets.

Task Group 88.3[edit]

USSNeoshorefueled task force ships during the operation. It was also outfitted with Air Force MSQ-1A radar and communication vans.Neoshoalso served as theflagshipfor TG 88.3, the Mobile Logistics Group, which consisted ofNeosho,USSSalamonie(AO-26), and assigned destroyers.

USSSalamoniereturned to the United States upon arrival at TF-88, and did not participate with any tests.

Satellite tracking[edit]

Two satellite launches were attempted in order to obtain data from these high-altitude tests.Explorer 4was launched successfully to orbit on 26 July onJuno Imissile from Cape Canaveral. Thesatellitehad enoughbattery powerto function for sixty days. This was long enough for thesatelliteto track and measure ARGUS.[1]Explorer 5experienced a launch failure on 24 August.

There were many tracking systems used by the task force along with these satellites along with many organizations that helped track these missiles. "These included theNaval Research Laboratory,the Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Laboratory, theArmy Map Service,theNaval Ordnance Test Station,and theBallistic Research Laboratoryalong with ground tracking stations from theAleutian Islandsthrough theAzoresfrom academic, industrial, and military organizations. "[1]

Preparation[edit]

Deployment of X-17A aboard USS-Norton Sound.

To prepare for the launch of the ARGUS missiles, many tests and preparations were performed. As the east coast units of TF 88 were heading towards theSouth Atlantic,they participated with countdown, launch, and missile- tracking drills usingLoki/Darthigh-altitude, antiaircraft rockets launched from the USSWarrington.Fourteen of these Loki launches were conducted from 12 to 22 August. These tests were performed to test equipment and procedures, and to train personnel in specialized assignments. Some of these assignments necessary for the ARGUS missile launchings were "stationing of ships, MSQ-1Aradar trackingby theUSSNeoshoand theUSSTarawa,communications, positioning of sky-camera S2F aircraft, and area surveillance S2F aircraft. "[2]

Tests[edit]

X-17A warhead.

About 1800 km southwest ofCape Town,South Africa,USSNorton Soundlaunched three modifiedX-17A missilesarmed with 1.7ktW-25nuclear warheadsinto the upperatmosphere,wherehigh altitude nuclear explosionsoccurred. Due to theSouth Atlantic Anomaly,theVan Allen radiation beltis closer to the Earth's surface at that location. The (extreme) altitude of the tests was chosen so as to prevent personnel involved with the test from being exposed to anyionizing radiation.[8]Even with the very minor threat of radiation exposure, precautions were taken to prevent radiological exposure. The task force commander and his staff had devised a series of precautionary radiation safe measures to be followed in each stage of the operation. Though the chance of exposure to radiation from these missiles was minute, the safety measures were performed as directed by the commander by the crew of Task Force 88.[2]

Coordinated measurement programs involving satellite, rocket, aircraft, and surface stations were employed by theservicesas well as other government agencies and various contractors worldwide.

The Argus explosions created artificialelectronbelts resulting from theβ-decayoffissionfragments. These lasted for several weeks. Such radiation belts affect radio andradartransmissions, damage or destroy arming andfusingmechanisms ofintercontinental ballistic missilewarheads,and endanger crews oforbitingspace vehicles.It was found after performing these tests that the explosions did in fact degrade the reception and transmission of radar signals, another proof that Christofilos was correct about the Christofilos effect.[2]

Argusproved the validity of Christofilos' theory: the establishment of an electron shell derived from neutron and β-decay of fission products and ionization of device materials in the upper atmosphere was demonstrated. It not only provided data on military considerations, but produced a "great mass" of geophysical data.

X-17A awaiting launch aboard USS-Norton Sound.

The tests were first reported journalistically byHanson BaldwinandWalter SullivanofThe New York Timeson 19 March 1959,[9][10]headlining it as the "greatest scientific experiment ever conducted". This was an unauthorized publication that caused great controversy among scientists because many of them were unaware of the presence of artificial particles in the Earth's atmosphere.[1]Approximately nine ships and 4,500 people participated with the operation. After the completion of testing, the task force returned to the United States viaRio de Janeiro,Brazil.

The tests were announced officially the next year, but the full results and documentation of the tests were not declassified until 30 April 1982.

List of Argus launches[edit]

See also:List of nuclear weapons tests of the United States
United States' Argus series tests and detonations
Name[note 1] Date time (UT) LocalTime Zone[note 2][11] Location[note 3] Elevation + height[note 4] Delivery[note 5]
Purpose[note 6] 		Device[note 7] Yield[note 8] Fallout[note 9] References Notes
1 27 August 195802:28:?? WET (0 hrs)
 Launch from South Atlantic Ocean38°30′S11°30′W/ 38.5°S 11.5°W/-38.5; -11.5(Launch_1),elv: 0 + 0 m (0 + 0 ft);
Detonation over South Atlantic Ocean38°30′S11°30′W/ 38.5°S 11.5°W/-38.5; -11.5(1) 		N/A + 170 kilometers (110 mi) space rocket (> 80 km),
weapon effect 		W-25 1.7 kilotonnes of TNT (7.1 TJ)[12] [13][14][15][16][17][18]
2 30 August 195803:18:?? WET (0 hrs)
 Launch from South Atlantic Ocean49°30′S8°12′W/ 49.5°S 8.2°W/-49.5; -8.2(Launch_2),elv: 0 + 0 m (0 + 0 ft);
Detonation over South Atlantic Ocean49°30′S8°12′W/ 49.5°S 8.2°W/-49.5; -8.2(2) 		N/A + 310 kilometers (190 mi) space rocket (> 80 km),
weapon effect 		W-25 1.7 kilotonnes of TNT (7.1 TJ)[12] [13][14][15][16][17][18]
3 6 September 195822:13:?? WET (0 hrs)
 Launch from South Atlantic Ocean48°30′S9°42′W/ 48.5°S 9.7°W/-48.5; -9.7(Launch_3),elv: 0 + 0 m (0 + 0 ft);
Detonation over South Atlantic Ocean48°30′S9°42′W/ 48.5°S 9.7°W/-48.5; -9.7(3) 		N/A + 794 kilometers (493 mi) space rocket (> 80 km),
weapon effect 		W-25 1.7 kilotonnes of TNT (7.1 TJ)[12] [13][14][15][16][17][18]
  1. ^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.
  2. ^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.
  3. ^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.
  4. ^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.
  5. ^Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by thePartial 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.
  6. ^Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  7. ^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.
  8. ^Estimated energy yield intons, kilotons, and megatons.A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  9. ^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.

List of ships involved inOperation Argus[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghMundey, Lisa (2012). "The Civilianization of a Nuclear Weapons Effects Test: Operation ARGUS".Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences.42(4): 283–321.doi:10.1525/hsns.2012.42.4.283.
  2. ^abcdeDepartment of Defense, Defense Nuclear Agency (1958). "Operation ARGUS, 1958".Department of Defense Documents:1–143.hdl:2027/uiug.30112075683737.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  3. ^Van Allen, James A.;McIlwain, Carl E.;Ludwig, George H.(15 August 1959)."Satellite observations of electrons artificially injected into the geomagnetic field".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PDF).45(8): 1152–1171.Bibcode:1959PNAS...45.1152V.doi:10.1073/pnas.45.8.1152.JSTOR90137.PMC222697.
  4. ^Christofilos, Nicholas C.(15 August 1959)."The Argus Experiment"(PDF).Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America(PDF).45(8): 1144–1152.Bibcode:1959PNAS...45.1144C.doi:10.1073/pnas.45.8.1144.JSTOR90136.Archived(PDF)from the original on 16 November 2021.Retrieved6 June2017.
  5. ^"Report DNA 6039F: Operation Argus 1958"(PDF).Nuclear Test Personnel Review.Defense Nuclear Agency.1982.OCLC760071663.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 30 January 2012.Retrieved1 June2010.
  6. ^Lawson, Cliff (2017).The Station Comes of Age: Satellites, Submarines, and Special Operations in the Final Years of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, 1959–1967.Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division. p. 43.
  7. ^Hall of Valor Project."Arthur R. Gralla".Military Times.Archivedfrom the original on 31 December 2018.Retrieved30 December2018.
  8. ^U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency.DTRA Fact Sheets,"Operation Argus"Archived7 October 2012 at theWayback Machine.November 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  9. ^Baldwin, Hanson W.(19 March 1959). "3 Atomic Devices Detonated 300 Miles Up".The New York Times.p. 1.
  10. ^Sullivan, Walter(19 March 1959). "Radiation and Geomagnetic Phenomena Probed and Revealed by Test Outlined".The New York Times.p. 1.
  11. ^"Time Zone Historical Database".iana.com.Archivedfrom the original on 11 March 2014.Retrieved8 March2014.
  12. ^abcDCI Briefing to Joint Chiefs of Staff(PDF)(Report). 30 July 1963. p. 19.Archived(PDF)from the original on 6 November 2021.Retrieved6 November2021.
  13. ^abcSublette, Carey,Nuclear Weapons Archive,retrieved6 January2014
  14. ^abcOperation Argus, 1958(DNA6039F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense, 1982,archivedfrom the original on 16 November 2021,retrieved26 November2013
  15. ^abcNorris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (1 February 1994),"United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)"(PDF),Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper,Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council, archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 October 2013,retrieved26 October2013
  16. ^abcHansen, Chuck (1995),The Swords of Armageddon, Vol. 8,Sunnyvale, CA: Chukelea Publications,ISBN978-0-9791915-1-0
  17. ^abcUnited States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992(PDF)(DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, 1 December 2000, archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 October 2006,retrieved18 December2013
  18. ^abcYang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000),CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3),SMDC Monitoring Research

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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