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Operation Charioteer

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Charioteer

Mill Yard test underground cavity schematic

Information
CountryUnited States
Test siteNTS Area 12, Rainier Mesa; NTS Area 19, 20, Pahute Mesa; NTS, Areas 1–4, 6–10, Yucca Flat
Period1985–1986
Number of tests16
Test typeunderground cavity in tunnel, underground shaft, tunnel
Max. yield140 kilotonnes of TNT (590 TJ)
Test series chronology

Operation Charioteer[1] was a series of 16 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1985–1986 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Grenadier series and preceded the Operation Musketeer series.

United States' Charioteer series tests and detonations
Name [note 1] Date time (UT) Local time zone[note 2][2] Location[note 3] Elevation + height [note 4] Delivery [note 5]
Purpose [note 6] 		Device[note 7] Yield[note 8] Fallout[note 9] References Notes
Mill Yard October 9, 1985 20:40:00.128 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U12n.20 37°12′31″N 116°12′22″W / 37.20862°N 116.20615°W 2,203 m (7,228 ft) – 371 m (1,217 ft) underground cavity in tunnel,
weapon effect 		75 t Venting detected, 6 Ci (220 GBq) [1][3][4][5][6][7]
Diamond Beech October 9, 1985 23:20:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U12n.19 37°12′35″N 116°12′39″W / 37.20962°N 116.21097°W 2,230 m (7,320 ft) – 404.5 m (1,327 ft) tunnel,
weapon effect 		2.5 kt Venting detected, 1 Ci (37 GBq) [1][3][4][6][7]

Also a containment performance test[8]

Roquefort October 16, 1985 21:35:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4as 37°06′37″N 116°07′23″W / 37.1103°N 116.12309°W 1,341 m (4,400 ft) – 415 m (1,362 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		20 kt Venting detected [1][4][6][7][9]
Abo October 30, 1985 16:00:00.087 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3mc 37°03′02″N 116°02′13″W / 37.05057°N 116.03687°W 1,202 m (3,944 ft) – 196.29 m (644.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		10 t Venting detected, less than 30 Ci (1,100 GBq) [1][4][5][6][7]
Goldstone December 28, 1985 19:01:00.089 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U20ao 37°14′16″N 116°28′25″W / 37.23775°N 116.47364°W 1,887 m (6,191 ft) – 549 m (1,801 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		60 kt [1][6][7] Project Excalibur X-ray laser development test
Glencoe March 22, 1986 16:15:00.08 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4i 37°04′59″N 116°04′01″W / 37.08296°N 116.06691°W 1,233 m (4,045 ft) – 609.6 m (2,000 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		29 kt Venting detected off site, 0.1 Ci (3.7 GBq) [1][3][4][6][7][9]
Mighty Oak April 10, 1986 14:08:30.095 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U12t.08 37°13′06″N 116°11′01″W / 37.21827°N 116.18353°W 2,084 m (6,837 ft) – 394.4 m (1,294 ft) tunnel,
weapon effect 		20 kt Venting detected on site, 36 kCi (1,300 TBq) [1][3][4][6][7]

Radiation effect test on military hardware[8]

Mogollon April 20, 1986 15:12:30.074 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3li 37°00′42″N 116°02′48″W / 37.01164°N 116.04679°W 1,187 m (3,894 ft) – 259.4 m (851 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		1.5 kt [1][6][7]
Jefferson April 22, 1986 14:30:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U20ai 37°15′51″N 116°26′28″W / 37.26406°N 116.44109°W 1,955 m (6,414 ft) – 609 m (1,998 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		W56 80 kt I-131 venting detected, 0 [1][3][4][6][7] Stockpile confidence test, partial-yield test of an aging W56[10]
Panamint May 21, 1986 13:59:00.083 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2gb 37°07′30″N 116°03′41″W / 37.12499°N 116.06126°W 1,259 m (4,131 ft) – 480 m (1,570 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		1 kt Venting detected, 3 Ci (110 GBq) [1][3][4][6][7][9]
Tajo June 5, 1986 15:04:00.064 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7bl 37°05′54″N 116°00′58″W / 37.09842°N 116.01618°W 1,289 m (4,229 ft) – 518.2 m (1,700 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		67 kt [1][6][7][9][11]
Cybar July 17, 1986 21:00:00.06 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U19ar 37°16′43″N 116°21′23″W / 37.27862°N 116.35649°W 2,017 m (6,617 ft) – 627 m (2,057 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		119 kt I-131 venting detected, 0 [1][3][4][6][7]
Cornucopia July 24, 1986 15:05:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2ga(s) 37°08′34″N 116°04′19″W / 37.1427°N 116.07199°W 1,287 m (4,222 ft) – 381 m (1,250 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		8 kt I-131 venting detected, 0 [1][3][4][6][7][11]
Galveston September 4, 1986 16:09:00.057 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U19af 37°14′23″N 116°22′07″W / 37.23968°N 116.36864°W 2,018 m (6,621 ft) – 487.1 m (1,598 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		B61 350 t [1][5][6][7] B61 stockpile confidence test[12]
Aleman September 11, 1986 14:57:00.11 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3kz 37°04′09″N 116°03′02″W / 37.06903°N 116.05056°W 1,218 m (3,996 ft) – 502.6 m (1,649 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		100 t [1][6][7][9]
Labquark September 30, 1986 22:30:00.102 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U19an 37°18′00″N 116°18′30″W / 37.30003°N 116.30831°W 2,100 m (6,900 ft) – 616 m (2,021 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		140 kt Venting detected, 16 Ci (590 GBq) [1][3][4][6][7] Project Excalibur X-ray laser development test
  1. ^ The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
  2. ^ To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
  3. ^ Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
  4. ^ Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
  5. ^ Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
  6. ^ Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  7. ^ Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
  8. ^ Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  9. ^ Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000), CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3), SMDC Monitoring Research
  2. ^ "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Estimated exposures and thyroid doses received by the American people from Iodine-131 in fallout following Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, Chapter 2 (PDF), National Cancer Institute, 1997, archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2010, retrieved January 5, 2014
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Radiological Effluents Released from U.S. Continental Tests 1961 Through 1992 (DOE/NV-317 Rev. 1) (PDF), DOE Nevada Operations Office, August 1996, archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2013, retrieved October 31, 2013
  5. ^ a b c Norris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (February 1, 1994), "United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)" (PDF), Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper, archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2013, retrieved October 26, 2013
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Official list of underground nuclear explosions, Sandia National Laboratories, July 1, 1994, retrieved December 18, 2013
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (PDF) (DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, December 1, 2000, archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2006, retrieved December 18, 2013
  8. ^ a b Schoengold, Carole R. (1999). Operations Charioteer, Musketeer, Touchstone, Cornerstone, Aqueduct, Sculpin and Julin Technical Report (PDF). Bechtel Nevada. p. 82.
  9. ^ a b c d e Hechanova, Anthony E.; O'Donnell, James E. (September 25, 1998), Estimates of yield for nuclear tests impacting the groundwater at the Nevada Test Site, Nuclear Science and Technology Division
  10. ^ Hansen, Chuck (March 1, 2001). "Beware the Old Story". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 57 (2): 52–55. doi:10.2968/057002015.
  11. ^ a b Operation Argus, 1958 (DNA6039F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense, 1982, retrieved November 26, 2013
  12. ^ "List of motion pictures films and documents at NNSA" (PDF). Government Attic.