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In Cold War, US planned to blow up the Moon
Wednesday November 28, 2012 06:35:19 PM,
IANS
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London: The US planned
to blow up the Moon with a nuclear bomb during the Cold War as a
show of strength, a British media report said Wednesday.
American military chiefs allegedly devised the secret project, "A
Study of Lunar Research Flights" - or "Project A119" - in the hope
that the then Soviet Union would be intimidated by viewing the
nuclear flash from the Earth, the Telegraph reported.
It would have given the US a much needed morale boost after the
Russians successfully launched Sputnik in 1957, according to
physicist Leonard Reiffel, who was involved in the project.
The US would have used an atom bomb, because a hydrogen bomb would
have been too heavy.
The planning reportedly included calculations by astronomer Carl
Sagan, who was then a young graduate.
Military officials, however, reportedly abandoned the idea, which
would have taken place in 1959, because of fears that it would
have an adverse effect on the Earth should the explosion fail.
The project documents were kept secret for nearly 45 years, and
the US government has never formally confirmed its involvement in
the study, the British daily said.
Instead of blowing up the Moon, the US intensified and eventually
won the space race against the Soviet Union, with Neil Armstrong
becoming the first man to walk on the Moon in 1969.
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