Operation Roller Coaster | |
---|---|
Information | |
Country | United Kingdom United States |
Test site | Tonopah Test Range, Nevada |
Period | 1963 |
Number of tests | 4 |
Test type | dry surface |
Max. yield | 0 |
Test series chronology | |
Operation Roller Coaster [1] was a series of four nuclear tests conducted jointly by the United States and the United Kingdom in 1963, at the Nevada Test Site. [2] The tests did not involve the detonation of any nuclear weapons. Instead, their purpose was to evaluate the distribution of radioactive particles in a " dirty bomb" scenario, or an inadvertent, non-nuclear detonation of a nuclear weapon, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of storage structures in containing the explosion and the particles released. [2] The tests followed the Operation Storax series and preceded the Operation Niblick series.
Name [note 1] | Date time ( UT) | Local time zone [note 2] [3] | Location [note 3] | Elevation + height [note 4] | Delivery
[note 5] Purpose [note 6] |
Device [note 7] | Yield [note 8] | Fallout [note 9] | References | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Double Tracks | May 15, 1963 09:55:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°42′19″N 116°59′14″W / 37.70527°N 116.98715°W | 1,518 m (4,980 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. | ||
Clean Slate I | May 25, 1963 11:17:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°42′31″N 116°39′28″W / 37.70853°N 116.65786°W | 1,645 m (5,397 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | Venting detected off site | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. | |
Clean Slate II | May 31, 1963 10:47:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°45′41″N 116°36′50″W / 37.7614°N 116.61378°W | 1,683 m (5,522 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. | ||
Clean Slate III | June 9, 1963 10:30:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°45′33″N 116°40′52″W / 37.75914°N 116.68123°W | 1,645 m (5,397 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | Venting detected off site | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. |
Operation Roller Coaster | |
---|---|
Information | |
Country | United Kingdom United States |
Test site | Tonopah Test Range, Nevada |
Period | 1963 |
Number of tests | 4 |
Test type | dry surface |
Max. yield | 0 |
Test series chronology | |
Operation Roller Coaster [1] was a series of four nuclear tests conducted jointly by the United States and the United Kingdom in 1963, at the Nevada Test Site. [2] The tests did not involve the detonation of any nuclear weapons. Instead, their purpose was to evaluate the distribution of radioactive particles in a " dirty bomb" scenario, or an inadvertent, non-nuclear detonation of a nuclear weapon, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of storage structures in containing the explosion and the particles released. [2] The tests followed the Operation Storax series and preceded the Operation Niblick series.
Name [note 1] | Date time ( UT) | Local time zone [note 2] [3] | Location [note 3] | Elevation + height [note 4] | Delivery
[note 5] Purpose [note 6] |
Device [note 7] | Yield [note 8] | Fallout [note 9] | References | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Double Tracks | May 15, 1963 09:55:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°42′19″N 116°59′14″W / 37.70527°N 116.98715°W | 1,518 m (4,980 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. | ||
Clean Slate I | May 25, 1963 11:17:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°42′31″N 116°39′28″W / 37.70853°N 116.65786°W | 1,645 m (5,397 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | Venting detected off site | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. | |
Clean Slate II | May 31, 1963 10:47:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°45′41″N 116°36′50″W / 37.7614°N 116.61378°W | 1,683 m (5,522 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. | ||
Clean Slate III | June 9, 1963 10:30:?? | PST (–8 hrs) |
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°45′33″N 116°40′52″W / 37.75914°N 116.68123°W | 1,645 m (5,397 ft) + 0 | dry surface, safety/transportation test |
no yield | Venting detected off site | [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] | Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk. |