atomcentral | Atomic Journeys: Faultless 1 Megaton Nuclear Test @atomcentral | Uploaded April 2024 | Updated October 2024, 2 days ago.
The Faultless test was a nuclear calibration test conducted in a mine cavity 3,200 feet beneath the Hot Creek Valley near Tonopah, Nevada, with a yield of around 1 megaton. This test was conducted to see if the land was fit for testing a 5 megaton thermonuclear warhead for the Spartan missile. The test failed because of the large degree of faulting that resulted in the area around the test. It was decided that the land was unfit for multi-megaton nuclear tests, so a similar calibration test was conducted at Amchitka Island, Alaska, in the fall of 1969 during Operation Mandrel.
The Faultless test was a nuclear calibration test conducted in a mine cavity 3,200 feet beneath the Hot Creek Valley near Tonopah, Nevada, with a yield of around 1 megaton. This test was conducted to see if the land was fit for testing a 5 megaton thermonuclear warhead for the Spartan missile. The test failed because of the large degree of faulting that resulted in the area around the test. It was decided that the land was unfit for multi-megaton nuclear tests, so a similar calibration test was conducted at Amchitka Island, Alaska, in the fall of 1969 during Operation Mandrel.
