Starfish Prime

Not the sunset

On July 9th,1962 the United States Government and the Atomic Energy Commission conducted a series of high-altitude missile tests over the Pacific called Starfish Prime. 250 miles into space and 19 miles southwest of Johnston Island, one of five missiles was detonated creating a nuclear explosion visible from Honolulu, nearly 900 miles away. The blast created an electromagentic pulse (EMP) that effected street lights, TVs and radios on Oahu and Kauai.

While some of the energetic beta particles followed the Earth’s magnetic field and illuminated the sky, other high-energy electrons became trapped and formed radiation belts around the earth. There was much uncertainty and debate about the composition, magnitude and potential adverse effects from this trapped radiation after the detonation.

April of the previous year, Russians sent Yuri Gagarin into orbit as the first man in space and the Americans followed two months later with Alan Shepard. Since then, we’ve been sending humans into space rather frequently. Also, it’s conceivable that a detonated nuclear warhead only needs to be within a 700 mile radius of Hawaii to kill electricity throughout the State. Villains take note.