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Home > Library > Publications > NTS 50th Anniversary Newsletter

Huron King

Photo - The 'Huron King' six seconds after test detonation.A rare type of Vertical Line of Sight (VLOS) underground test was conducted by the Defense Nuclear Agency on June 24, 1980.

The "Huron King" test used a nuclear device of less than 20 kilotons.

The VLOS design involved placing the nuclear device at the bottom of the shaft with a communications satellite and other experiments in an above-ground test chamber to simulate a space environment.

At zero time, the radiation from the device flowed up the vertical pipe to the surface test chamber. Mechanical closures then intercepted and sealed the pipe, preventing the accompanying shock wave from damaging the targets.

The test chamber was then immediately disconnected by remote control from the pipe and winched to safety before the ground subsided to form a crater.

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Date Last Modified: November 24, 2008