Casillic
@casillic.bsky.social
Critical Infrastructure, High Consequence / High Integrity Systems, Space, Nuclear, Mathematics, Public Health, HPC
Reposted by Casillic
75 years ago this morning, the United States conducted FOX, a proof test of a Mk-6 atomic bomb, at the Nevada Proving Ground, its fifth test there. The yield was 22 kilotons (the predicted yield was 34 kilotons). Below, the first published photographs of a mushroom cloud over Nevada, from that test.
February 6, 2026 at 3:08 PM
75 years ago this morning, the United States conducted FOX, a proof test of a Mk-6 atomic bomb, at the Nevada Proving Ground, its fifth test there. The yield was 22 kilotons (the predicted yield was 34 kilotons). Below, the first published photographs of a mushroom cloud over Nevada, from that test.
Reposted by Casillic
Marines Drill on Establishing Arming, Refueling Point at remote Tinian Island in the Pacific — USNI News
news.usni.org/2026/02/04/m...
news.usni.org/2026/02/04/m...
Marines Drill on Establishing Arming, Refueling Point at remote Tinian Island in the Pacific - USNI News
The U.S Marine Corps recently trained in establishing a forward arming and refueling point (FARP) on Tinian Island, a storied and strategic foothold for U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific. Marine Wing Su...
news.usni.org
February 4, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Marines Drill on Establishing Arming, Refueling Point at remote Tinian Island in the Pacific — USNI News
news.usni.org/2026/02/04/m...
news.usni.org/2026/02/04/m...
Reposted by Casillic
A.E.C. matchbook...
February 2, 2026 at 2:58 PM
A.E.C. matchbook...
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70 years ago today, in a first, the USSR launched an R-5 medium-range ballistic missile (NATO designation: SS-3 Shyster) carrying a live warhead across populated areas of Kazakhstan from the Kapustin Yar test site to the Sary Shagan test range. The 0.3-kt warhead detonated on the ground near Aralsk.
February 2, 2026 at 4:08 PM
70 years ago today, in a first, the USSR launched an R-5 medium-range ballistic missile (NATO designation: SS-3 Shyster) carrying a live warhead across populated areas of Kazakhstan from the Kapustin Yar test site to the Sary Shagan test range. The 0.3-kt warhead detonated on the ground near Aralsk.
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There's an May 9, 1952 accident at Eielson AFB, Alaska, listed in one heavily redacted accident I have. This might be the one Hansen has listed. Again, little info on it. Note that this was declassified in 2014 — hard to know why this would still be classified!
February 1, 2026 at 6:38 PM
There's an May 9, 1952 accident at Eielson AFB, Alaska, listed in one heavily redacted accident I have. This might be the one Hansen has listed. Again, little info on it. Note that this was declassified in 2014 — hard to know why this would still be classified!
Reposted by Casillic
75 yrs ago today at 5:47 AM local time, television station KTLA made an unauthorized live broadcast from atop Mt. Wilson just to Los Angeles of the 1-kiloton EASY nuclear test at the Nevada Proving Ground more than 200 miles away. It was watched by an estimated 30,000 people (start video at 22:30).
Stan Chambers
interviews.televisionacademy.com
February 1, 2026 at 2:23 PM
75 yrs ago today at 5:47 AM local time, television station KTLA made an unauthorized live broadcast from atop Mt. Wilson just to Los Angeles of the 1-kiloton EASY nuclear test at the Nevada Proving Ground more than 200 miles away. It was watched by an estimated 30,000 people (start video at 22:30).
Reposted by Casillic
January 31, 1958: 10:48 PM EST- The United States puts its very first satellite into Earth orbit, Explorer-1. To learn more about the science around the mission here's a link to a JPL website that explains more explorer1.jpl.nasa.gov
January 31, 2026 at 7:31 PM
January 31, 1958: 10:48 PM EST- The United States puts its very first satellite into Earth orbit, Explorer-1. To learn more about the science around the mission here's a link to a JPL website that explains more explorer1.jpl.nasa.gov
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Some of the recently declassified images of the NRO's Cold War-era JUMPSEAT HEO signals intelligence satellite program. lnkd.in/eGym2xBj
January 29, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Some of the recently declassified images of the NRO's Cold War-era JUMPSEAT HEO signals intelligence satellite program. lnkd.in/eGym2xBj
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Here @joshuakeating.bsky.social points out that, as of January 14, 2026, we've entered the longest period since July 16, 1945, without a full-scale nuclear test explosion (exceeding the time between the 1998 Pakistani test and North Korea's first test in 2006) www.vox.com/future-perfe...
The world just passed a surprisingly positive milestone on nuclear weapons
It’s been more than eight years since the last nuclear explosion. How long will the pause last?
www.vox.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Here @joshuakeating.bsky.social points out that, as of January 14, 2026, we've entered the longest period since July 16, 1945, without a full-scale nuclear test explosion (exceeding the time between the 1998 Pakistani test and North Korea's first test in 2006) www.vox.com/future-perfe...
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"W80-5 “Just Came Up,” Will Go On SLCM-N, Weapons Directors Say"
W80-5 “Just Came Up,” Will Go On SLCM-N, Weapons Directors Say - Defense Daily
The W80-5, a new variant of the W80 warhead family, is on a “more aggressive schedule” to go on the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N),
www.defensedaily.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:23 AM
"W80-5 “Just Came Up,” Will Go On SLCM-N, Weapons Directors Say"
Interesting looks like some type of B61 test equipment with a unit under test.
January 21, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Interesting looks like some type of B61 test equipment with a unit under test.
Sandia National Laboratories
Stockpile Systems Engineering
Stockpile Systems Engineering
January 21, 2026 at 3:20 AM
Sandia National Laboratories
Stockpile Systems Engineering
Stockpile Systems Engineering
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My weekly post.
January 17, 2026 at 6:28 PM
My weekly post.
Reposted by Casillic
Reposted by Casillic
An LA animal shelter is giving its longest resident her own ‘Pollypalooza' fest
www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/la...
www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/la...
An LA animal shelter is giving its longest resident her own ‘Pollypalooza' fest
Best Friends Pet Adoption Center is showering the pup with love at the afternoon affair and you’re invited.
www.nbclosangeles.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:34 PM
An LA animal shelter is giving its longest resident her own ‘Pollypalooza' fest
www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/la...
www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/la...
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 had mandates that the highways be constructed to support military applications, particularly the movement of mobile-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) nationwide. @atomicanalyst.bsky.social you posted on topic before but I can't find links?
January 17, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 had mandates that the highways be constructed to support military applications, particularly the movement of mobile-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) nationwide. @atomicanalyst.bsky.social you posted on topic before but I can't find links?
Reposted by Casillic
"Wellerstein presents his story in clear, direct prose, ... 'The Most Awful Responsibility' is a well-written opus unpacking Truman’s—and America’s—complicated relationship with nuclear weapons." www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘The Most Awful Responsibility’ Review: Truman and the Nuclear Option
Harry Truman knew little about the plans to use atomic weapons when he took office. By that time there was little he could do but decide where to drop the first bomb.
www.wsj.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:54 PM
"Wellerstein presents his story in clear, direct prose, ... 'The Most Awful Responsibility' is a well-written opus unpacking Truman’s—and America’s—complicated relationship with nuclear weapons." www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
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Today in 1997, Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O’Leary held her fourth Openness Initiative press conference, declassifying 6,500 previously secret nuclear test films and publishing a thorough report on radiological effluents released by nuclear tests in the United States. www.osti.gov/opennet/form...
January 15, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Today in 1997, Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O’Leary held her fourth Openness Initiative press conference, declassifying 6,500 previously secret nuclear test films and publishing a thorough report on radiological effluents released by nuclear tests in the United States. www.osti.gov/opennet/form...
Reposted by Casillic
DARPA tried to study way to turn common office buildings into large-area telescopes:
www.darpa.mil/research/pro...
"WITH-US" would exploit the slightly concave glass flanks of large buildings as light-collecting surfaces to look at targets in the upper atmosphere or in orbit.
www.darpa.mil/research/pro...
"WITH-US" would exploit the slightly concave glass flanks of large buildings as light-collecting surfaces to look at targets in the upper atmosphere or in orbit.
January 14, 2026 at 9:14 PM
DARPA tried to study way to turn common office buildings into large-area telescopes:
www.darpa.mil/research/pro...
"WITH-US" would exploit the slightly concave glass flanks of large buildings as light-collecting surfaces to look at targets in the upper atmosphere or in orbit.
www.darpa.mil/research/pro...
"WITH-US" would exploit the slightly concave glass flanks of large buildings as light-collecting surfaces to look at targets in the upper atmosphere or in orbit.
Reposted by Casillic
“The Most Awful Responsibility” and “American Experience: Bombshell”
"The Most Awful Responsibility" and "American Experience: Bombshell" - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Disclosure: Alex Wellerstein has been a friend for at least a decade. I followed the development of his ideas for “The Most Awful Responsibility” as he published them on his blog and elsewhere. I also discussed some aspects of them with him because of something I was writing at that time. “American Experience: Bombshell” overlaps […]
www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:34 PM
“The Most Awful Responsibility” and “American Experience: Bombshell”
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Jan 10, 1951 #ColdWar Plans to test atomic weapons on a closely guarded bombing range in Nevada were announced by the United States Atomic Energy Commission today. The experiments will mark the first nuclear explosions In the United States since the first atom bomb was tested in New Mexico in 1945.
January 11, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Jan 10, 1951 #ColdWar Plans to test atomic weapons on a closely guarded bombing range in Nevada were announced by the United States Atomic Energy Commission today. The experiments will mark the first nuclear explosions In the United States since the first atom bomb was tested in New Mexico in 1945.
Reposted by Casillic
Thank you to @atomicanalyst.bsky.social for his wonderful nuclear threads!
And how relevant to the current situation especially given that USA ICBM silos have internet access.
Irrespective, an example of how launch process is designed to be rapid & unquestioned.
And how relevant to the current situation especially given that USA ICBM silos have internet access.
Irrespective, an example of how launch process is designed to be rapid & unquestioned.
Today in 1975, a USAF board of inquiry ruled 38-year-old Maj. Harold Hering, a decorated pilot with 20 years of service, be discharged because two years earlier—during ICBM combat crew training at Vandenberg AFB—he asked how he would know a launch order was lawful and came from a rational president.
January 11, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Thank you to @atomicanalyst.bsky.social for his wonderful nuclear threads!
And how relevant to the current situation especially given that USA ICBM silos have internet access.
Irrespective, an example of how launch process is designed to be rapid & unquestioned.
And how relevant to the current situation especially given that USA ICBM silos have internet access.
Irrespective, an example of how launch process is designed to be rapid & unquestioned.
Reposted by Casillic
Jan 11, 1941 NYT Suppression of the motion picture "Citizen Kane,” Orson Welles's first film venture, has been demanded of RKO Pictures, by representatives of William Randolph Hearst. Welles said: "It is not based upon the life of Hearst or any one else. #TCMparty
www.nytimes.com/1941/01/11/a...
www.nytimes.com/1941/01/11/a...
January 11, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Jan 11, 1941 NYT Suppression of the motion picture "Citizen Kane,” Orson Welles's first film venture, has been demanded of RKO Pictures, by representatives of William Randolph Hearst. Welles said: "It is not based upon the life of Hearst or any one else. #TCMparty
www.nytimes.com/1941/01/11/a...
www.nytimes.com/1941/01/11/a...
Reposted by Casillic
Lots of discussions into the "French problem" in this early article of mine on atomic patenting practices — was a complicated situation relating to IP, the Quebec Agreement, and Groves' distrust of the French... alexwellerstein.com/publications...
alexwellerstein.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:30 AM
Lots of discussions into the "French problem" in this early article of mine on atomic patenting practices — was a complicated situation relating to IP, the Quebec Agreement, and Groves' distrust of the French... alexwellerstein.com/publications...
Executive briefing study: When FDR abruptly died Truman needed to be briefed on massive secret Manhattan Project. Fascinating to explore its size, style, & content
Memorandum for the Secretary of War from General L. R. Groves, “Atomic Fission Bombs,” April 23, 1945
nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/defaul...
Memorandum for the Secretary of War from General L. R. Groves, “Atomic Fission Bombs,” April 23, 1945
nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/defaul...
January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Executive briefing study: When FDR abruptly died Truman needed to be briefed on massive secret Manhattan Project. Fascinating to explore its size, style, & content
Memorandum for the Secretary of War from General L. R. Groves, “Atomic Fission Bombs,” April 23, 1945
nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/defaul...
Memorandum for the Secretary of War from General L. R. Groves, “Atomic Fission Bombs,” April 23, 1945
nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/defaul...