In support of The Commissions to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack, this paper examines the potential damage to satellites from high altitude nuclear detonations not specifically targeting space assets. We provide and overview of representative classes of satellites, their orbits, and their economic and military importance to the U.S. lessons learned from atmospheric nuclear test of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s are presented. In particular, the STARFISH PRIME test of 1962 injected long-lived trapped energetic electrons into Earth’s magnetic fields, causing the early demise of several satellites.
Follow The Black Vault on Social Media:
This post was published on March 7, 2019 1:02 am
This article was originally written in August 2024. However, additional document releases related to these…
The Department of Defense (DoD) has released 151 pages of internal records related to the…
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a series of previously undisclosed documents confirming…
Newly released Air Force records confirm that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) in Ohio experienced…
Newly released documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal that the U.S.…
The CIA’s history of losing or mismanaging UFO-related records continues with yet another example, this…