|
The 1967 nuclear testing campaign was a 3 shot series conducted during June and July at Mururoa atoll. This was the second nuclear testing campaign conducted at the CEP. The primary objective of the 1967 campaign was to test new concepts involved in the design and development of more advanced nuclear weapons.
The tests explored the use of highly-enriched uranium-235 as a fissile material in nuclear weapons (following the production of the first highly-enriched U-235 from the gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment facility at Pierrelatte in April 1967). The series featured two balloon shots and a barge shot, the last ever conducted by France. All 3 tests were conducted at Mururoa atoll; 1 at Dindon and 2 at Denise. France's thermonuclear weapons program, which began in July 1962, had been split into two separate development teams as a result of minimal progress made in 1966. One of the teams, headed by Luc Dagens, developed a crude thermonuclear device which was tested during the 1967 campaign. (See: France and the Hydrogen Bomb) The test, code named Antarés, was conducted on 27 June 1967, the second shot of the series. Another goal of the nuclear shots was to test possible configurations for a primary stage for an experimental two-stage thermonuclear device under development. The primary stage device would use uranium-235. [1] |
The cloud reached an altitude of 11,000 meters (35,200 feet) before stabilizing. Light radiation levels were detected on Mangareva and Tureia several hours after the shot. Extensive weapons effects experiments were conducted during this shot near the Denise testing sector. Tanks, vehicles, and buildings were exposed to the explosion to study their response to the effects of the nuclear detonation.
Antarés was a test of an experimental thermonuclear device developed by Luc Dagens. The yield of the device was considered to be disappointing. [2]
The cloud reached an altitude of 25,000 meters (80,000 feet), with the base reaching an altitude of 10,625 meters (38,400 feet). Atmospheric conditions resulted in the cloud passing between the islands of Gambier and Reao. Fallout is detected on the atolls of Mangareva, Tureia, Hao and Vairaatea.
Arcturus was the last barge shot conducted by France. It was a test of the primary trigger that would be used the following year for the testing of France’s first two-stage thermonuclear device, Canopus.
The cloud reached an altitude of 15,000 meters (48,000 feet). Two aircraft conducted cloud sampling missions between 19,000 feet and 22,000 feet. Slight wind change following the shot resulted in the cloud passing near the atoll of Tureia, resulting in fallout detection.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
