4 ms·

Project Iceworm

49 points by cpeterso 10y ago

dclowd9901 10y ago
One of those great "reality is stranger than fiction" stories. Are we only learning about this because it's become recently declassified? How've I not heard of this before?
- martey 10y ago
  > Are we only learning about this because it's become recently declassified? The only classified part of this story is the relatively uninteresting part - that this was to be a nuclear missile base. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm : > While Project Iceworm was secret, plans for Camp Century were discussed with and approved by Denmark, and the facility, including its nuclear power plant, was profiled in The Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1960.
  - jacquesm 10y ago
    That's a matter of perspective, apparently, to me that is the most interesting part. The fact that it took decades before it was declassified and only then caused an inquiry by the Danish parliament indicates that some other people thought it was interesting as well, at least interesting enough to attempt to keep it buried forever.
    - dclowd9901 10y ago
      I think, perhaps, he meant "uninteresting" in the sense that the obvious assumption was that it would be a nuclear missile base, while the hope was that it was something much cooler.
josh-wrale 10y ago
Fallout: On Ice
- Tar90 10y ago
  Cold war indeed.
meatsock 10y ago
here is a better version of the video referenced in this blog post: https://youtu.be/x0c9ykqe2Xs https://youtu.be/x0c9ykqe2Xs
christkv 10y ago
It feels like a trailer for a reboot of "The Thing".
dredmorbius 10y ago
The blog post is somewhat misleading and /or misinformed. The "scientific mission" was always cover. The operation was too large to hide completely, so a semi-plausible (though on any reflection, pretty patently absurd) cover story, "For Science!" was constructed, complete with propaganda films featuring against-regulation-puppy-dogs.... I'd run across a reference to this in an old documentary video on "Camp Century" now online. Watching it I got the distinct impression that the story was not as it was described -- the mission involved 3,000 m of tunnels, included a shop, theater, and church, some 200 men, and a nuclear reactor for power generation. That's a lot of men and materiel just for a science mission. As noted, turns out it was cover for a larger scheme: 4,000 kilometers of tunnels in which 600 nuclear-warhead tipped missiles were to be deployed. But the ice cap proved too unstable and the project was cancelled after six years (the reactor removed before that). The true irony is this: one of the more enduring results of the mission was scientific, as it produced numerous ice cores and established that the Greenland ice cap was far more dynamic than originally thought. Fake science ends up producing ... real science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm http://defensetech.org/2012/04/06/inside-the-armys-secret-cold-war-ice-base/ http://defensetech.org/2012/04/06/inside-the-armys-secret-co... Greatest Mysteries of the Cold War: Nuclear Powered Subterranean Secret Base in Greenland (720p) http://fixyt.com/watch?v=NkvRwoVdzk8 http://fixyt.com/watch?v=NkvRwoVdzk8
- michaelbuckbee 10y ago
  Reminds me of the Glomar Explorer and the cover story of 'manganese nodule mining' https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSF_Explorer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSF_Explorer I wonder which of today's scientific projects will turn out fake.
  - dredmorbius 10y ago
    I actually mentioned that in the comment of mine I'd borrowed from here. Fun fact: I knew one of he scientists on the cover mission for the Glomar Explorer. He was on the ship for the duration of the mission. And didn't even realise the true purpose until he read about it in the news. Something to keep in mind if you're getting assurances from people working at or for a project or organisation that there's nothing twisted going on -- first, it needn't be a laargee operation that is, and even a full second crew and submarine-sized sea bay can be hidden, on a ship. Makes you think.
cbanek 10y ago
I suddenly feel the urge to watch Empire Strikes Back.

49 points by cpeterso 10y ago

One of those great "reality is stranger than fiction" stories. Are we only learning about this because it's become recently declassified? How've I not heard of this before?

martey 10y ago
> Are we only learning about this because it's become recently declassified? The only classified part of this story is the relatively uninteresting part - that this was to be a nuclear missile base. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm : > While Project Iceworm was secret, plans for Camp Century were discussed with and approved by Denmark, and the facility, including its nuclear power plant, was profiled in The Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1960.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  That's a matter of perspective, apparently, to me that is the most interesting part. The fact that it took decades before it was declassified and only then caused an inquiry by the Danish parliament indicates that some other people thought it was interesting as well, at least interesting enough to attempt to keep it buried forever.
  - dclowd9901 10y ago
    I think, perhaps, he meant "uninteresting" in the sense that the obvious assumption was that it would be a nuclear missile base, while the hope was that it was something much cooler.

josh-wrale 10y ago

Fallout: On Ice

Tar90 10y ago
Cold war indeed.

meatsock 10y ago

here is a better version of the video referenced in this blog post: https://youtu.be/x0c9ykqe2Xs https://youtu.be/x0c9ykqe2Xs

christkv 10y ago

It feels like a trailer for a reboot of "The Thing".

dredmorbius 10y ago

The blog post is somewhat misleading and /or misinformed. The "scientific mission" was always cover. The operation was too large to hide completely, so a semi-plausible (though on any reflection, pretty patently absurd) cover story, "For Science!" was constructed, complete with propaganda films featuring against-regulation-puppy-dogs.... I'd run across a reference to this in an old documentary video on "Camp Century" now online. Watching it I got the distinct impression that the story was not as it was described -- the mission involved 3,000 m of tunnels, included a shop, theater, and church, some 200 men, and a nuclear reactor for power generation. That's a lot of men and materiel just for a science mission. As noted, turns out it was cover for a larger scheme: 4,000 kilometers of tunnels in which 600 nuclear-warhead tipped missiles were to be deployed. But the ice cap proved too unstable and the project was cancelled after six years (the reactor removed before that). The true irony is this: one of the more enduring results of the mission was scientific, as it produced numerous ice cores and established that the Greenland ice cap was far more dynamic than originally thought. Fake science ends up producing ... real science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm http://defensetech.org/2012/04/06/inside-the-armys-secret-cold-war-ice-base/ http://defensetech.org/2012/04/06/inside-the-armys-secret-co... Greatest Mysteries of the Cold War: Nuclear Powered Subterranean Secret Base in Greenland (720p) http://fixyt.com/watch?v=NkvRwoVdzk8 http://fixyt.com/watch?v=NkvRwoVdzk8

michaelbuckbee 10y ago
Reminds me of the Glomar Explorer and the cover story of 'manganese nodule mining' https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSF_Explorer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSF_Explorer I wonder which of today's scientific projects will turn out fake.
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  I actually mentioned that in the comment of mine I'd borrowed from here. Fun fact: I knew one of he scientists on the cover mission for the Glomar Explorer. He was on the ship for the duration of the mission. And didn't even realise the true purpose until he read about it in the news. Something to keep in mind if you're getting assurances from people working at or for a project or organisation that there's nothing twisted going on -- first, it needn't be a laargee operation that is, and even a full second crew and submarine-sized sea bay can be hidden, on a ship. Makes you think.

cbanek 10y ago

I suddenly feel the urge to watch Empire Strikes Back.