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Burning the sky : Operation Argus and the untold story of the Cold War nuclear tests in outer space /

"After the Soviet Union proved to the US that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik in the October 1957, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. In the midst of this rising tension, Nichol...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wolverton, Mark
Published: The Overlook Press,
Publisher Address: New York, NY :
Publication Dates: 2018.
Literature type: Book
Language: English
Edition: First edition.
Subjects:
Operation Argus, 1958.
Nuclear weapons > South Atlantic Ocean > Testing.
High-altitude nuclear explosions > South Atlantic Ocean.
Upper atmosphere > Research.
Artificial radiation belts.
Atomic bomb > Testing.
Nuclear weapons > Testing.
South Atlantic Ocean.
Summary: "After the Soviet Union proved to the US that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik in the October 1957, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. In the midst of this rising tension, Nicholas Christofilos, an eccentric Greek-American physicist, brought forth an outlandish, albeit ingenious, idea to defend the US from a Soviet attack: launching nuclear warheads to detonate in outer space, creating an artificial radiation belt that would fry incoming Soviet ICBMs. Known as Operation Argus, this plan is the most secret and riskiest scientific experiment in history, and classified details of these nuclear tests have been long obscured. In Burning the Sky, Mark Wolverton tells the unknown and controversial story of this scheme to reveal a fascinating narrative that still has powerful resonances today"--from publisher's description.
Carrier Form: 272 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 9781468314175
1468314173
Index Number: U264
CLC: E928
Call Number: E928/W869-1
Contents: Introduction: The middle of nowhere -- The panic of 1958 -- The elevator repairman -- Lines of force -- A sense of urgency -- The task force -- The farthest place on Earth -- Earth in a shroud -- The big finish -- A veil of secrecy -- The cold glare of day -- The light of science -- The sky is falling -- A pause to consider -- Bigger bangs -- The sun at night -- The haunted island -- The fire of Damocles -- Threats and legacies -- Postscript: A persistent afterglow.

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