Nevada weapons test plan blasted

[Bustem' Down]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/31/nevada.blast.ap/index.html

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Plans for a Pentagon-led experiment that involves detonating 700 tons of explosives in the desert drew criticism from state leaders and a disarmament activist.

Someone always wants to mess up the fun. That will be a big boom.

 

[itsbob]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/31/nevada.blast.ap/index.html



Someone always wants to mess up the fun. That will be a big boom.

It's non Nuclear, what's the problem??

 

[desertrat]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/31/nevada.blast.ap/index.html



Someone always wants to mess up the fun. That will be a big boom.

Sure it's ok if the government does it, but if you or I wanted to they'd get all pissy about it.

 

[Bustem' Down]

It's non Nuclear, what's the problem??

"Given the level of contamination in areas where nuclear tests were conducted, I have real concerns about the dust and other pollutants that will be released into the air as a result of this explosion," said U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley.

Disarmament activist Pete Litster said tests at the site violate international law. Litster, executive director of the Shundahai Network, said the site belongs to the Western Shoshone Indian tribe.

Although...

The test site is not required to seek public comment,

 

[ylexot]

Invite the complainers to watch...at close distance

 

[Bustem' Down]

Invite the complainers to watch...at close distance

700 tons. You wouldn't need to be too close.

 

[kwillia]

It's supposed to send a huge mushroom cloud over Las Vegas... I'm visiting Las Vegas this year and I know it will be just my luck to be there when/if they decide to do this...

 

[Bustem' Down]

It's supposed to send a huge mushroom cloud over Las Vegas... I'm visiting Las Vegas this year and I know it will be just my luck to be there when/if they decide to do this...

It's scheduled for June 2.

 

[ylexot]

It's scheduled for June 2.

Cool. I'll have to go and try to get a picture or two

 

[soul4sale]

OK, while I admit that a 700-ton explosive friggin RAWKS, I have to question its military value. It reminds me of that Invader Zim episode where Zim discovers that the Martians collapsed their civilization in an attempt to turn the planet into a giant space ship.

"So why did you do it?"
"Because it was coooooool."

I mean, 700 TONS. That's 10 tanks. Do we have a bomber or cargo plane that can even lift 10 tanks at once? I think three is the max. Hell, they have to load the "puny" 7.5-ton Daisy cutter on a C-130.

 

[desertrat]

OK, while I admit that a 700-ton explosive friggin RAWKS, I have to question its military value. It reminds me of that Invader Zim episode where Zim discovers that the Martians collapsed their civilization in an attempt to turn the planet into a giant space ship.

"So why did you do it?"
"Because it was coooooool."

I mean, 700 TONS. That's 10 tanks. Do we have a bomber or cargo plane that can even lift 10 tanks at once? I think three is the max. Hell, they have to load the "puny" 7.5-ton Daisy cutter on a C-130.

You're right. They couldn't possibly be talking a deliverable weapon. So what's up? When I was working in Az they rocked the desert with explosives arranged in circles to simulate an atomic weapon going off. We were about 10 miles away and it felt like a small tremor. Could it be something like that?

 

[2ndAmendment]

Testing blast radius of tactical nuke? How far should ships be kept out of port if it is suspected of carrying a small nuke?

Most of our testing of nukes was done with megatons or below ground. That does not tell you much about a blast radius. You can guess, but in this case, guessing is dangerous.

 

[itsbob]

Testing blast radius of tactical nuke? How far should ships be kept out of port if it is suspected of carrying a small nuke?

Most of our testing of nukes was done with megatons or below ground. That does not tell you much about a blast radius. You can guess, but in this case, guessing is dangerous.

Simulating a nuclear small yield weapon without screwing up the non proliferation or nuke weapons test ban treaties.. Just watching the shock wave creep across the desert would be way cool..

 

[beavis]

perhaps they are measuring wind carry of "fallout"

...or maybe they want the north koreans and iranians to know we dont need nuclear weapons to ruin thier evil plans...

i wish i could see it, though

 

[FromTexas]

This test is for bunker buster type guided weapons. If you read some of the news reports, they are working the furthest point of their explosive yield curve that they could safely carry on bunker buster/guided type weapons.

If it works and we build one of that magnitude, could you imagine the surprise on some terrorists face when this thing comes raming down the shaft of a cave they are holed up in somewhere in the mountains? The squashing sound when the mountain comes down on them?

 

[Ken King]

Since tractor-trailers are capable of upto 80,000lbs GVW (40 tons) maybe they are looking at what a supersized Oklahoma City bomb might do. If a convoy of tractor-trailers were involved, 700 tons of material (commercial ammonium nitrate and fuel oil) at one place isn't that absurd or unrealistic. Makes me wonder if there have been intercepts obtained indicating a terrorist plan for something along these lines is in the works.

 

[FromTexas]

The test is aimed at determining how well a massive conventional bomb would perform against fortified underground targets -- such as military headquarters, biological or chemical weapons stockpiles, and long-range missiles -- that the Pentagon says are proliferating among potential adversaries around the world.

 

[Ken King]

Thanks Tex.

I didn't search out anything else just read the limited information in the linked article (should have known better). Googling the term "Divne Strake" I found this tidbit.

Divine Strake is a high-explosive (HE) test sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and is scheduled for the summer of 2006 at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The test is a detonation of a 700 ton buried heavy AN/FO charge above a tunnel structure. The main purpose of the test is to study ground shock effects on deeply buried tunnel structures. Of secondary interest is the airblast produced by a buried charge and its modification as it propagates over the local terrain.

 

[Larry Gude]

Hey...

It's non Nuclear, what's the problem??

...I'm all about the nuetron bomb.

It is better to give than receive.