PROJECT ARGUS and the RAINBOW BOMBS UNITED STATES NUCLEAR DETONATIONS IN SPACE Around 1958, the significant implications of the Earth's magnetic fields and radiation belts for future military activities were what drew the attention of government physicists. Nicholas Christofilos, a physicist working at the University of California's Livermore Radiation Laboratory, developed techniques to harness and control the energy released in hydorgen fusion reactions. Christofilos used magnetic confinment fields. When the Soviets launched Sputnik I, Christofilos decided that the earth's magnetic field could be used to contain an artificial band of relativistic electrons. He speculated that this artificial radiation belt could be made intense enough to destroy satellites in orbit. The belt would produce worldwide radio noise on the HF and VHF radio bands that carried the bulk of military communications. By accurately calculating the site for an explosion of a nuclear device, it's effects could be made to occur over a specific target area. Christofilos urged that the government test his postulates by exploding a nuclear device in space. Christofilos superiors at Livermore placed his papers under top security control and advised the President's Science Advisory group of the matter. The resulting program became Project Argus. PROJECT ARGUS TESTS Explosion Locale Date Yield Altitude --------------------------------------------------------------- Argus I South Atlantic Aug 27, 1958 1KT 200KM Argus II South Atlantic Aug 30, 1958 1KT 250KM Argus III South Atlantic Sept 6, 1958 1KT 500KM POST-ARGUS TESTING ACTIONS -------------------------- Starfish Johnston Island July, 9 1962 1.4KT 400KM SOVIET NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS IN SPACE ---------------------------------- USSR Siberia Oct 22, 1962 200KT UNK USSR Siberia Oct 28, 1962 800KT UNK USSR Siberia Nov 1, 1962 1+MT UNK