The K Project
Encyclopedia
The K Project, or also Operation K, was a series of five high altitude nuclear explosion
s, nuclear tests performed by the Soviet Union
during the years 1961 and 1962. Their purpose was to test the performance of anti-ballistic missile
s of the ABM System A and their resistance against nuclear blasts in their vicinity. Artificial radiation belts were created and their effect was measured.
The five tests were:http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/hane.html
Each test involved pair of R-12 missiles launched from the Kapustin Yar
test complex, to high altitude above the Sary Shagan
anti-ballistic missile testing range in Kazakhstan
. The first missile carried a nuclear warhead. The second one carried sensors to evaluate the effects of the first missile's blast and to act as a target for the anti-ballistic missile being tested.
The Soviet tests were meant to demonstrate their anti-ballistic missile defense
s which would supposedly protect their major cities in the event of a nuclear war. The worst effects of a Russian high altitude test occurred on 22 October 1962 (during the Cuban missile crisis
), in Operation K when a 300 kiloton
missile-warhead detonated west of Dzhezkazgan
(also called Zhezqazghan) at an altitude of 290 km (180.2 mi). The Soviet scientists instrumented a 570 kilometres (354.2 mi) section of telephone line in the area affected by the detonation in order to measure electromagnetic pulse
effects.
The EMP
fused all of the 570-kilometer monitored overhead telephone line with measured currents of 1500 to 3400 ampere
s during the 22 October 1962 test. The monitored telephone line was divided into sub-lines of 40 to 80 kilometers (about 25 to 50 miles) in length, separated by repeater
s. Each sub-line was protected by fuses
and by gas-filled
overvoltage
protectors. The EMP from the 22 October (K-3) nuclear test caused all of the fuses to blow and all of the overvoltage protectors to fire in all of the sub-lines of the 570 km telephone line. The EMP from the same test started a fire that burned down the Karaganda
power plant, and shut down 1000 km (621.4 mi) of shallow-buried power cables
between Astana
(then called Aqmola) and Almaty
.
The Partial Test Ban Treaty
was passed the following year, ending atmospheric and exoatmospheric nuclear tests.
Although the weapons used in the K Project were much smaller (up to 300 kilotons) than the United States Starfish Prime
test of 1962, since the K Project tests were done over a populated large land mass (and also at a location where the Earth's magnetic field
was greater), the damage caused by the resulting EMP was much greater. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the level of this damage was communicated informally to scientists in the United States. Formal scientific documentation of some of the EMP damage in Kazakhstan exists but is still sparse in the open scientific literature.
The 1998 IEEE article, however, does contain a number of details about the measurements of EMP effects on the instrumented 570 km telephone line, including details about the fuses that were used and also about the gas-filled overvoltage protectors that were used on that communications line. According to that paper, the gas-filled overvoltage protectors fired as a result of the voltages induced by the fast E1 component of the EMP, and the fuses were blown as the result of the slow E3 component of the EMP, which caused geomagnetically induced currents in all of the sub-lines.
The Aqmola (Astana) to Almaty buried power cable was also shut down by the slow E3 component of the EMP.
Published reports, including the 1998 IEEE article, have stated that there were significant problems with ceramic insulators on overhead electrical power lines during the tests of the K Project. In 2010, a technical report written for a United States government laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, stated, "Power line insulators were damaged, resulting in a short circuit on the line and some lines detaching from the poles and falling to the ground."
High altitude nuclear explosion
High-altitude nuclear explosions have historically been nuclear explosions which take place above altitudes of 30 km, still inside the Earth's atmosphere. Such explosions have been tests of nuclear weapons, used to determine the effects of the blast and radiation in the exoatmospheric...
s, nuclear tests performed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the years 1961 and 1962. Their purpose was to test the performance of anti-ballistic missile
Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles .A ballistic missile is used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" describes any antimissile system designed to counter...
s of the ABM System A and their resistance against nuclear blasts in their vicinity. Artificial radiation belts were created and their effect was measured.
The five tests were:http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/hane.html
| Soviet Test Name | United States Name | Date | Nuclear weapon yield Nuclear weapon yield The explosive yield of a nuclear weapon is the amount of energy discharged when a nuclear weapon is detonated, expressed usually in the equivalent mass of trinitrotoluene , either in kilotons or megatons , but sometimes also in terajoules... | Altitude km, (statute mi.) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K-1 | Test #128 | 27 October 1961 | 1.2 kilotons | 300 km. (186 miles) | |
| K-2 | Test #127 | 27 October 1961 | 1.2 kilotons | 150 km. (93 miles) | |
| K-3 | Test #184 | 22 October 1962 | 300 kilotons | 290 km. (180 miles) | worst electromagnetic pulse Electromagnetic pulse An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field... effects |
| K-4 | Test #187 | 28 October 1962 | 300 kilotons | 150 km. (93 miles) | |
| K-5 | Test #195 | 01 November 1962 | 300 kilotons | 59 km. (37 miles) |
Each test involved pair of R-12 missiles launched from the Kapustin Yar
Kapustin Yar
Kapustin Yar is a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast, between Volgograd and Astrakhan. Known today as Znamensk , it was established 13 May 1946 and in the beginning used technology, material, and scientific support from defeated Germany...
test complex, to high altitude above the Sary Shagan
Sary Shagan
Sary Shagan is an anti-ballistic missile testing range located in Kazakhstan at coordinates .On 17 August 1956 the Soviet Council of Ministers authorized plans for an experimental facility for missile defense located at Sary Shagan, on the west bank of Lake Balkhash...
anti-ballistic missile testing range in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. The first missile carried a nuclear warhead. The second one carried sensors to evaluate the effects of the first missile's blast and to act as a target for the anti-ballistic missile being tested.
The Soviet tests were meant to demonstrate their anti-ballistic missile defense
Missile defense
Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception and destruction of attacking missiles. Originally conceived as a defence against nuclear-armed Intercontinental ballistic missiles , its application has broadened to include shorter-ranged...
s which would supposedly protect their major cities in the event of a nuclear war. The worst effects of a Russian high altitude test occurred on 22 October 1962 (during the Cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
), in Operation K when a 300 kiloton
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
missile-warhead detonated west of Dzhezkazgan
Dzhezkazgan
Jezkazgan or Zhezkazgan , formerly known as Dzhezkazgan , is a city in Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan, on a reservoir of the Kara-Kengir River. The city population is of 90,000...
(also called Zhezqazghan) at an altitude of 290 km (180.2 mi). The Soviet scientists instrumented a 570 kilometres (354.2 mi) section of telephone line in the area affected by the detonation in order to measure electromagnetic pulse
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
effects.
The EMP
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
fused all of the 570-kilometer monitored overhead telephone line with measured currents of 1500 to 3400 ampere
Ampere
The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...
s during the 22 October 1962 test. The monitored telephone line was divided into sub-lines of 40 to 80 kilometers (about 25 to 50 miles) in length, separated by repeater
Repeater
A repeater is an electronic device that receives asignal and retransmits it at a higher level and/or higher power, or onto the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances.-Description:...
s. Each sub-line was protected by fuses
Fuse (electrical)
In electronics and electrical engineering, a fuse is a type of low resistance resistor that acts as a sacrificial device to provide overcurrent protection, of either the load or source circuit...
and by gas-filled
Gas-filled tube
A gas-filled tube, also known as a discharge tube, is an arrangement of electrodes in a gas within an insulating, temperature-resistant envelope. Although the envelope is typically glass, power tubes often use ceramics, and military tubes often use glass-lined metal...
overvoltage
Overvoltage
When the voltage in a circuit or part of it is raised above its upper design limit, this is known as overvoltage. The conditions may be hazardous...
protectors. The EMP from the 22 October (K-3) nuclear test caused all of the fuses to blow and all of the overvoltage protectors to fire in all of the sub-lines of the 570 km telephone line. The EMP from the same test started a fire that burned down the Karaganda
Karaganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
power plant, and shut down 1000 km (621.4 mi) of shallow-buried power cables
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
between Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
(then called Aqmola) and Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
.
The Partial Test Ban Treaty
Partial Test Ban Treaty
The treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty , Limited Test Ban Treaty , or Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is a treaty prohibiting all test detonations of nuclear weapons...
was passed the following year, ending atmospheric and exoatmospheric nuclear tests.
Although the weapons used in the K Project were much smaller (up to 300 kilotons) than the United States Starfish Prime
Starfish Prime
Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States of America on July 9, 1962, a joint effort of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Defense Atomic Support Agency ....
test of 1962, since the K Project tests were done over a populated large land mass (and also at a location where the Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field is the magnetic field that extends from the Earth's inner core to where it meets the solar wind, a stream of energetic particles emanating from the Sun...
was greater), the damage caused by the resulting EMP was much greater. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the level of this damage was communicated informally to scientists in the United States. Formal scientific documentation of some of the EMP damage in Kazakhstan exists but is still sparse in the open scientific literature.
The 1998 IEEE article, however, does contain a number of details about the measurements of EMP effects on the instrumented 570 km telephone line, including details about the fuses that were used and also about the gas-filled overvoltage protectors that were used on that communications line. According to that paper, the gas-filled overvoltage protectors fired as a result of the voltages induced by the fast E1 component of the EMP, and the fuses were blown as the result of the slow E3 component of the EMP, which caused geomagnetically induced currents in all of the sub-lines.
The Aqmola (Astana) to Almaty buried power cable was also shut down by the slow E3 component of the EMP.
Published reports, including the 1998 IEEE article, have stated that there were significant problems with ceramic insulators on overhead electrical power lines during the tests of the K Project. In 2010, a technical report written for a United States government laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, stated, "Power line insulators were damaged, resulting in a short circuit on the line and some lines detaching from the poles and falling to the ground."