Nixon's nuke in space?

Factual Questions
1

I’m not sure if this is just a legand of sorts, but I’ve heard several people mention nuclear weapons detonated in space at the time of the Nixon administration.

I can’t find very much with a google search, anyone else know anything about it?

Thanks,

C_e

2

I don’t think so. That would be impossible to hide. IIRC Edward Teller or one of the other bomb scientists suggested the possibility of setting off a nuke on the moon but that’s it.

3

Not during the Nixon administration, but during the Eisenhower administation (when Nixon was V.P.), there were three tests in the South Pacific (Operation Argus). The highest was 466 miles up. http://nuketesting.enviroweb.org/hew/Usa/Tests/Argus.html

4

I watched “Trinity and Beyond” a while back and there were some nukes exploded in space, but I’m thinking it was more in the early '60s time frame… the following would suggest the space tests ended in 1963.

FromThis Site

As for further clandestine space tests, This Site tells of the gamma ray detection satellites placed in orbit to detect space-based nuclear explosions…says none were ever detected.

5

Thanks bibliophage…that’s more like the site I was trying to find…

The Hardtack series were the tests shown on “Trinity and Beyond” IIRC.

6

This Department od Energy website has information and video clips of Operation Argus.

7

Oh, the satellites detected nuclear explosions in space, all right… The explosions were just a mite bit more energetic than we expected, though ;).

And what are we using as our standard of “in space”, here?

8

Well, yeah, Gamma Ray Burst(er)s. But they ain’t made by us or the Ruskies. That was a great side benefit from a paranoid system of detection.