List of artificial radiation belts: Difference between revisions
Asymmetries in the magnetic field is not a reason for the drift. The main drifts acting here are gradient B drift and curvature drift. |
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| publisher = [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] | | publisher = [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] | ||
| date = September 1964 | | date = September 1964 | ||
| url = | | url = https://www.futurescience.com/emp/Hess-Wilmot.pdf | ||
| id = NASA TN D-2402 | | id = NASA TN D-2402 | ||
| access-date = 2009-10-24 | | access-date = 2009-10-24 | ||
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| title = Operation ARGUS (Fact Sheet) | | title = Operation ARGUS (Fact Sheet) | ||
| publisher = U.S. [[Defense Threat Reduction Agency]] | | publisher = U.S. [[Defense Threat Reduction Agency]] | ||
| url = | | url = https://www.dtra.mil/documents/ntpr/factsheets/Argus.pdf | ||
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121007081428/http://www.dtra.mil/documents/ntpr/factsheets/Argus.pdf | | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121007081428/http://www.dtra.mil/documents/ntpr/factsheets/Argus.pdf | ||
| url-status = dead | | url-status = dead | ||
| Line 55: | Line 55: | ||
| last4 = Calhoun | first4 = F. S. | | last4 = Calhoun | first4 = F. S. | ||
| last5 = Martin | first5 = E. J. | | last5 = Martin | first5 = E. J. | ||
| url = | | url = https://www.dtra.mil/documents/ntpr/historical/1958%20-%20DNA%206039F%20-%20Operation%20ARGUS%20-%201958.pdf | ||
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120130035125/http://www.dtra.mil/documents/ntpr/historical/1958%20-%20DNA%206039F%20-%20Operation%20ARGUS%20-%201958.pdf | | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120130035125/http://www.dtra.mil/documents/ntpr/historical/1958%20-%20DNA%206039F%20-%20Operation%20ARGUS%20-%201958.pdf | ||
| url-status = dead | | url-status = dead | ||
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! Nation of Origin | ! Nation of Origin | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Hardtack Teak]] | | [[Hardtack Teak]] | ||
| [[Johnston Island]] ([[Pacific]]) | | [[Johnston Island]] ([[Pacific]]) | ||
| 1958-08-01 | | 1958-08-01 | ||
| [[TNT equivalent|3.8 megatons]] | | [[TNT equivalent|3.8 megatons]] | ||
| 76.8 | | 76.8 | ||
| [[United States]] | | [[United States]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[High-altitude nuclear explosion|Hardtack Orange]] | | [[High-altitude nuclear explosion|Hardtack Orange]] | ||
| [[Johnston Island]] ([[Pacific]]) | | [[Johnston Island]] ([[Pacific]]) | ||
| 1958-08-12 | | 1958-08-12 | ||
| [[TNT equivalent|3.8 megatons]] | | [[TNT equivalent|3.8 megatons]] | ||
| 43 | | 43 | ||
| [[United States]] | | [[United States]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Operation Argus|Argus I]] | | [[Operation Argus|Argus I]] | ||
| [[South Atlantic]] | | [[South Atlantic]] | ||
| 1958-08-27 | | 1958-08-27 | ||
| [[kiloton|1-2 kilotons]] | | [[kiloton|1-2 kilotons]] | ||
| 200 | | 200 | ||
| [[United States]] | | [[United States]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Operation Argus|Argus II]] | | [[Operation Argus|Argus II]] | ||
| [[South Atlantic]] | | [[South Atlantic]] | ||
| 1958-08-30 | | 1958-08-30 | ||
| [[kiloton|1-2 kilotons]] | | [[kiloton|1-2 kilotons]] | ||
| 256 | | 256 | ||
| [[United States]] | | [[United States]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Operation Argus|Argus III]] | | [[Operation Argus|Argus III]] | ||
| [[South Atlantic]] | | [[South Atlantic]] | ||
| 1958-09-06 | | 1958-09-06 | ||
| [[kiloton|1-2 kilotons]] | | [[kiloton|1-2 kilotons]] | ||
| 539 | | 539 | ||
| [[United States]] | | [[United States]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Starfish Prime]] | | [[Starfish Prime]] | ||
| [[Johnston Island]] ([[Pacific]]) | | [[Johnston Island]] ([[Pacific]]) | ||
| 1962-07-09 | | 1962-07-09 | ||
| [[TNT equivalent|1.4 megatons]] | | [[TNT equivalent|1.4 megatons]] | ||
| 400 | | 400 | ||
| [[United States]] | | [[United States]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Soviet Project K nuclear tests|K-3]] | | [[Soviet Project K nuclear tests|K-3]] | ||
| [[Kazakhstan]] | | [[Kazakhstan]] | ||
| 1962-10-22 | | 1962-10-22 | ||
| 300 [[kiloton]]s | | 300 [[kiloton]]s | ||
| 290 | | 290 | ||
| [[Soviet Union|USSR]] | | [[Soviet Union|USSR]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Soviet Project K nuclear tests|K-4]] | | [[Soviet Project K nuclear tests|K-4]] | ||
| [[Kazakhstan]] | | [[Kazakhstan]] | ||
| 1962-10-28 | | 1962-10-28 | ||
| 300 [[kiloton]]s | | 300 [[kiloton]]s | ||
| 150 | | 150 | ||
| [[USSR]] | | [[Soviet Union|USSR]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Soviet Project K nuclear tests|K-5]] | | [[Soviet Project K nuclear tests|K-5]] | ||
| [[Kazakhstan]] | | [[Kazakhstan]] | ||
| 1962-11-01 | | 1962-11-01 | ||
| 300 [[kiloton]]s | | 300 [[kiloton]]s | ||
| 59 | | 59 | ||
| [[USSR]] | | [[Soviet Union|USSR]] | ||
|} | |} | ||
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The [[Starfish Prime]] radiation belt had, by far, the greatest intensity and duration of any of the artificial radiation belts.<ref name="LA6405"/> | The [[Starfish Prime]] radiation belt had, by far, the greatest intensity and duration of any of the artificial radiation belts.<ref name="LA6405"/> | ||
The Starfish Prime radiation belt damaged | The Starfish Prime radiation belt damaged British satellite [[Ariel 1]] and the United States satellites, [[Transit Research and Attitude Control|TRAAC]], [[Transit (satellite)#Other satellites|Transit 4B]], [[Injun (satellite)|Injun I]] and [[Telstar|Telstar I]]. It also damaged the Soviet satellite [[Kosmos 5]]. All of these satellites failed completely within several months of the Starfish detonation.<ref name="LA6405"/> | ||
Telstar I lasted the longest of the satellites damaged by the Starfish Prime radiation, with its complete failure occurring on February 21, 1963.<ref>{{cite web | Telstar I lasted the longest of the satellites damaged by the Starfish Prime radiation, with its complete failure occurring on February 21, 1963.<ref>{{cite web | ||
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| publisher = Defense Threat Reduction Agency | | publisher = Defense Threat Reduction Agency | ||
| date = August 2010 | | date = August 2010 | ||
| url = | | url = https://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA531197&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf | ||
| access-date = 2011-06-19 | | access-date = 2011-06-19 | ||
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111112103439/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA531197&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf | | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111112103439/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA531197&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf | ||
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* {{slink|Aurora#Conjugate auroras}} | * {{slink|Aurora#Conjugate auroras}} | ||
==References== | == References == | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
* Wm. Robert Johnston. [ | * Wm. Robert Johnston. [https://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/hane.html High-altitude nuclear explosions] | ||
* {{USGovernment}} | * {{USGovernment}} | ||
Latest revision as of 20:32, 25 September 2025
Artificial radiation belts are radiation belts that have been created by high-altitude nuclear explosions.[1][2][3][4][5]
| Explosion | Location | Date | Yield (approximate) | Altitude (km) | Nation of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardtack Teak | Johnston Island (Pacific) | 1958-08-01 | 3.8 megatons | 76.8 | United States |
| Hardtack Orange | Johnston Island (Pacific) | 1958-08-12 | 3.8 megatons | 43 | United States |
| Argus I | South Atlantic | 1958-08-27 | 1-2 kilotons | 200 | United States |
| Argus II | South Atlantic | 1958-08-30 | 1-2 kilotons | 256 | United States |
| Argus III | South Atlantic | 1958-09-06 | 1-2 kilotons | 539 | United States |
| Starfish Prime | Johnston Island (Pacific) | 1962-07-09 | 1.4 megatons | 400 | United States |
| K-3 | Kazakhstan | 1962-10-22 | 300 kilotons | 290 | USSR |
| K-4 | Kazakhstan | 1962-10-28 | 300 kilotons | 150 | USSR |
| K-5 | Kazakhstan | 1962-11-01 | 300 kilotons | 59 | USSR |
The table above only lists those high-altitude nuclear explosions for which a reference exists in the open (unclassified) English-language scientific literature to persistent artificial radiation belts resulting from the explosion.
The Starfish Prime radiation belt had, by far, the greatest intensity and duration of any of the artificial radiation belts.[1]
The Starfish Prime radiation belt damaged British satellite Ariel 1 and the United States satellites, TRAAC, Transit 4B, Injun I and Telstar I. It also damaged the Soviet satellite Kosmos 5. All of these satellites failed completely within several months of the Starfish detonation.[1]
Telstar I lasted the longest of the satellites damaged by the Starfish Prime radiation, with its complete failure occurring on February 21, 1963.[6]
In Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory report LA-6405, Herman Hoerlin gave the following explanation of the history of the original Argus experiment and of how the nuclear detonations led to the development of artificial radiation belts.[1]
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Before the discovery of the natural Van Allen belts in 1958, N. C. Christofilos had suggested in October 1957 that many observable geophysical effects could be produced by a nuclear explosion at high altitude in the upper atmosphere. This suggestion was reduced to practice with the sponsorship of the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense and under the overall direction of Herbert York, who was then Chief Scientist of ARPA. It required only four months from the time it was decided to proceed with the tests until the first bomb was exploded. The code name of the project was Argus. Three events took place in the South Atlantic. ... Following these events, artificial belts of trapped radiation were observed.
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A general description of trapped radiation is as follows. Charged particles move in spirals around magnetic-field lines. The pitch angle (the angle between the direction of the motion of the particle and direction of the field line) has a low value at the equator and increases while the particle moves down a field line in the direction where the magnetic field strength increases. When the pitch angle becomes 90 degrees, the particle must move in the other direction, up the field lines, until the process repeats itself at the other end. The particle is continuously reflected at the two mirror points — it is trapped in the field. Because of the magnetic field gradient and the centrifugal force acting on particles moving around bend field lines, the particles also drift around the earth, electrons towards the east. Thus, they form a shell around the earth similar in shape to the surface formed by a field line rotated around the magnetic dipole axis.
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In 2010, the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency issued a report that had been written in support of the United States Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack. The report, entitled "Collateral Damage to Satellites from an EMP Attack," discusses in great detail the historical events that caused artificial radiation belts and their effects on many satellites that were then in orbit. The same report also projects the effects of one or more present-day high-altitude nuclear explosions upon the formation of artificial radiation belts and the probable resulting effects on satellites that are currently in orbit.[7]
See also
- Christofilos effect
- Operation Argus
- Hardtack Teak
- Outer Space Treaty
- Soviet Project K nuclear tests
- Starfish Prime
- Operation Fishbowl
- Van Allen radiation belt
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Lists of environmental topics
- Nicholas Christofilos
- Template:Slink
References
External links
- Wm. Robert Johnston. High-altitude nuclear explosions
- Template:USGovernment