A Nuclear Bomb Test in Space that Happened Only Once: Operation Fishbowl


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These tests were conducted in order to understand how nuclear weapons would behave in space and in the atmosphere.

The main objective of Operation Fishbowl was to understand how nuclear explosions carried out at high altitudes affect the magnetosphere in space. The magnetosphere is a region created by the Earth’s magnetic field and where charged particles found in space interact. Such interactions can have significant effects on the functioning of space weather and communication systems.

Operation Fishbowl 1
Operation Fishbowl 1

As part of Operation Fishbowl, five nuclear tests were conducted at different explosion levels at high altitudes. The experiments were carried out using high-altitude balloons placed in different orbits to study the effects of nuclear explosions at different altitudes on the magnetosphere.

Operation Fishbowl is an example of early experiments conducted to understand the effects of nuclear weapons both in space and in the atmosphere. However, it should be remembered that the operation also raises various concerns about the potential damage of nuclear explosions to space.

After the signing of the International Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1963, nuclear tests were subject to restrictions and nuclear tests in the atmosphere were banned. For this reason, experiments such as Operation Fishbowl were not carried out later.

Operation Fishbowl2
Operation Fishbowl2

As a result, Operation Fishbowl is a series of nuclear tests carried out in order to understand the effects of nuclear weapons in space and the atmosphere. Such tests were aimed at studying the effects of nuclear warheads in space and in the Earth’s high atmosphere.

The explosion caused damage not only on the Earth’s surface, but also in space. At that time, 7 of the 21 satellites in orbit were disabled, and the Earth’s magnetic field deviated by 1/3 degree for 30 minutes.

The claim announced by the US Department of Defense that “it will take a few days for the area to return to normal” was also different from the estimates. It took months for this area to return to normal, and the radiation belt formed as a result of the explosion continued to exist for 10 years. This generation was even stronger than the Van Allen generations.

Operation Fishbowl3
Operation Fishbowl3

The United States made a choice, realizing that this was a mistake.

The US government would either continue to test nuclear bombs in space or continue to develop satellite technology. There was no way they could do both at the same time. That’s why President John F. Kennedy signed the “Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear Tests as a Part” with the Soviet Union in 1963.

If we try to drop a new bomb on this region, we will lose many important satellites in orbit, including TV, telephone, GPS, weather forecasting, Internet. This will cause very difficult wounds in the global economy to return.

kaynak: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Fishbowl


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