Operation Argus, 1958

Government Author: Defense Department, Army Department, Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Subject: Artificial radiation belts
Atomic bomb
Nuclear weapons
Operation Argus, 1958
Research
Testing
Upper atmosphere
Van Allen radiation belts
South Atlantic Ocean

Content Origin: This content was harvested from online sources of the original hosting or authoring agency and may not reflect current policy. As Federal agencies add publications to their websites, or report new publications to GPO per statutory mandate (44 U.S.C. §§ 1710, 1902-1903), GPO ensures long-term preservation of and access to the content.

Abstract: In late August and early September of 1958, U.S. Navy Task Force 88, consisting of nine ships and approximately 4,500 men, secretly conducted three high-altitude nuclear tests in the South Atlantic. The code name of the operation was ARGUS. In each of these tests, the task force launched from the missile trials ship, USS Norton Sound (AVM-1), a specially modified X-17a three-stage ballistic missile carrying a low-yield nuclear warhead, which was detonated high in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Upon completion of these launchings on September 6, the task force departed the operating area for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and thence to home ports in the United States. This report details Department of Defense personnel participation in these tests, with an emphasis on radiological safety.