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It was interesting how they dealt with this for the Apollo missions. Shortly before the launches Operation Starfish Prime took place and one hope was that deto

It was interesting how they dealt with this for the Apollo missions. Shortly before the launches Operation Starfish Prime took place and one hope was that detonating nuclear bombs in the upper atmosphere might deform the Van Allen belts or indeed that the extra energy might displace them entirely. However, it actually strengthened the radiation belt, fortunately it dissipated relatively quickly and it was safe for the lunar missions. https://thewire.in/the-sciences/apollo-11-van-allen-radiation-belts-translunar-injection https://thewire.in/the-sciences/apollo-11-van-allen-radiatio...

api 7y ago
I love the "hold my beer" era of US / USSR atomic testing.
- dryd3n 7y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare
  - segfaultbuserr 7y ago
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_N...
    - Nicksil 7y ago
      Non-mobile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat...
      - TomMckenny 7y ago
        using nukes to improve petroleum extraction. oh the irony.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
  - Nicksil 7y ago
    Non-mobile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare
- opo 7y ago
  An interesting one that was considered was Project A119: >...Project A119, also known as A Study of Lunar Research Flights, was a top-secret plan developed in 1958 by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_A119 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_A119
8bitsrule 7y ago
That explosion also eventually disabled over a half-dozen satellites. Whoops. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/07/09/the-50th-anniversary-of-starfish-prime-the-nuke-that-shook-the-world/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/07/09/th... https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a531197.pdf https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a531197.pdf https://www.wired.com/2012/03/starfishandapollo-1962/ https://www.wired.com/2012/03/starfishandapollo-1962/

api 7y ago

I love the "hold my beer" era of US / USSR atomic testing.

dryd3n 7y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare
- segfaultbuserr 7y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_N...
  - Nicksil 7y ago
    Non-mobile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat...
    - TomMckenny 7y ago
      using nukes to improve petroleum extraction. oh the irony.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
- Nicksil 7y ago
  Non-mobile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare
opo 7y ago
An interesting one that was considered was Project A119: >...Project A119, also known as A Study of Lunar Research Flights, was a top-secret plan developed in 1958 by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_A119 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_A119

8bitsrule 7y ago

That explosion also eventually disabled over a half-dozen satellites. Whoops. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/07/09/the-50th-anniversary-of-starfish-prime-the-nuke-that-shook-the-world/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/07/09/th... https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a531197.pdf https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a531197.pdf https://www.wired.com/2012/03/starfishandapollo-1962/ https://www.wired.com/2012/03/starfishandapollo-1962/