Operation Fishbowl

  Overview

Operation Fishbowl was a series of high-altitude nuclear tests conducted under Operation Dominic to evaluate warhead performance and atmospheric effects.¹ The shots were launched from Johnston Atoll using Thor missiles to study missile defense and electromagnetic pulse phenomena.²

  Starfish Prime

Detonated 9 July 1962 at about 400 km altitude, the 1.4 Mt burst created a red aurora visible over Hawaii and caused electrical disruptions across Oahu.¹³ Honolulu police recorded hundreds of UFO reports that night.³

  Bluegill Triple Prime

After multiple failed attempts, Bluegill Triple Prime finally launched 26 October 1962. A podcast later claimed its X-ray burst disabled a non-human craft, but analysis shows the "object" was the Thor booster.⁴⁵ A Los Alamos memo recorded fallout concerns that delayed earlier Bluegill shots.⁶

  References

1. osti.gov ↩ ↩²

2. nuclearweaponarchive.org ↩

3. christiancentury.org ↩ ↩²

4. douglasjohnson.ghost.io ↩

5. Deep Space Podcast, Episode 62 (2024) ↩

6. osti.gov ↩