Starfish Prime: The Largest Nuclear Test in Space

ThoughtCo. ^ | June 2, 2019 | By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

[silent majority rising]

Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted on July 9, 1962 as part of a group of tests collectively known as Operation Fishbowl. While Starfish Prime was not the first high-altitude test, it was the largest nuclear test ever conducted by the United States in space. The test led to the discovery and understanding of the nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect and a mapping of seasonal mixing rates of tropical and polar air masses.

Key Takeaways: Starfish Prime Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States on July 9, 1962. It was part of Operation Fishbowl. It was the largest nuclear test conducted in outer space, with a yield of 1.4 megatons. Starfish Prime generated an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that damaged electrical systems in Hawaii, just under 900 miles away.

[BobL]

The Neocons will tell you EMPs are nothing to worry about...and if they’re wrong, there won’t be anyone around to hold them accountable.

[AppyPappy]

Amazingly, our power stayed on

[silent majority rising]

I posted this because the discussions about EMP will become more obvious in the coming weeks and months. Iran believes that the Muslim Mahdi, or their equivalent of christianity’s Messiah, is present in the world, and can only destroy the US and Israel’s ability to make war by drastic asymmetric warfare. We are vulnerable because of our overconfidence and reliance on technology. It is just as important for the US to destroy Iran’s ability to make or get nuclear weapons as it is for Israel. The two countries that Iran has preached to utterly destroy are the ‘Little Satan’ Israel and the ‘big Satan’ United States. Their goal has never changed, and they will tell Trump anything (taqiyya) to string the US along until they have a weapon.

[rdcbn1]

the Starfish Prime detonation created a lot of damage. at a time when most of our electronics were still vacuum tubes and heavy duty switching gear and motor drives that more closely resembled a Frankenstein movie than the sophisticated micro electronics we have today. An EMP is going to do a lot more damage these days than it did in 1962.

[silent majority rising]

That is because Starfish’s detonation was at 30,000 feet. The new detonations would be at 12 miles to 250 miles altitude. If 30,000 feet effects 900 miles away, how devasting would a 50 mile detonation be?

[PeterPrinciple]

Were a nuclear device to be exploded in space over the middle of a continent, the damage from the EMP could affect the entire continent. While disruption in Hawaii in 1962 was minor, modern electronic devices are much more sensitive to electromagnetic pulses. A modern EMP from a space nuclear explosion poses a significant risk to modern infrastructure and to satellites and space craft in low Earth orbit.

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keep your Big Chief Tablet and big fat pencil handy...........

[telescope115]

You are absolutely right. Couldn’t agree more.

[rdcbn1]

Another amazing outcome of the test was that the name “Starfish Prime” was a cool sounding motivation for a lot of very cool Star Trek planet names like Tau Ceti Prime

[BikerJoe]

That is because Starfish’s detonation was at 30,000 feet.

Negative. It was at 250 miles.

A first unsuccessful launch for Starfish Prime was terminated at 30,000 feet, but no nuclear detonation.

[txeagle]

That moniker could easily be applied to several women I dates over the years.......

[Tell It Right]

keep your Big Chief Tablet and big fat pencil handy...........

I'm not sure. This EMP test video shows smart phones and laptops still working after an EMP radiation test (perhaps needing rebooting, but otherwise fine). There might be a problem with EMP conductive spikes (if that's the right term) for devices plugged in.

[Pontiac]

Mitigating EMP and GMD Risks for Power Grid Resilience

Risks posed by geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events add challenges to an already complex power system environment. But they remain crucial to address. How prepared is the power grid to withstand these powerful natural and man-made disturbances?

It may be too late but it's not like we haven't know about this problem for 60 years.

[Pontiac]

Of course you don't need a nuclear weapon to generate an EMP.

Non-nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Generation

An non-'nuclear EMP weapon detonated in the Manhattan financial district might cripple the US economy.

A few of them detonated in the right places in a coordinated attack, could take out the US grid for months or years.

The materials to build one could be purchased without generating any interest in the intelligence community.

[Red Badger]

I'm safe...................

[Red Badger]

Less, possibly. The EMP degrades as a square of the distance, so a higher detonation doesn’t necessarily mean a more powerful Electro-magnetic pulse. You would have to have a more powerful detonation to get the same effects.............50 megatons?..............

[NorthMountain]

Shiny side out, of course, to better reflect the mind-control rays.

[punchamullah]

This article is rather confusing. If the detonation occurred at the altitude of 250 miles above a point 20 miles southwest of Hawaii, how could the explosion take place at the elevation of ten degrees above the horizon when viewed from Hawaii?

[silent majority rising]

I think that the “Golden Dome” that Trump wants to build will defend against space weapons (that is where they must be destroyed, in space).

[silent majority rising]

Our overconfidence in our technical advantage will lead to disaster if we don’t plan for asymmetrical warfare.