In 1962, the U.S. Department of Defense and Atomic Energy Commission initiated Operation Dominic,
36 atmospheric, high-altitude and underwater nuclear tests conducted as a response to the Soviet
Union's own weapons testing.
The high-altitude component, dubbed Operation Fishbowl, took place at Johnston Island and consisted
of nine tests. Of the nine, five were considered a success, with the remaining four as failures.
The aim of the operation was to detonate a nuclear weapon in near-space to test the effects of an
electromagnetic pulse triggered in high-altitude, to test its impact on electronics and power
grids, and to study the auroras and generated radiation belts that followed a nuclear explosion.
Fishbowl, and all subsequent nuclear tests came to a halt in 1963 as part of the Limited
Test Ban Treaty, though underground testing continued unabated.
In 1961, the Soviet Union ended a three-year nuclear testing moratorium by launching a series of
high-altitude missile tests. In response, the U.S. initiated Operation Dominic, a series of 36
tests to study the capabilities of nuclear effects, with Operation Fishbowl focusing on
high-altitude testing. Johnston Island, a remote Pacific Ocean atoll, was selected as the testing
grounds for Fishbowl due to its remote location.
On June 2, 1962, the first test of Fishbowl, "Bluegill" was conducted. Due to radar
tracking losing the missile mid-flight, the warhead was destroyed with no nuclear detonation taking
place.
On June 19, the second test, "Starfish", was launched, but the missile began to break apart
mid-flight. Once again, the warhead was ordered to be destroyed with no nuclear detonation taking
place.
On July 8, "Starfish Prime" was launched and was the first to successfully detonate. The detonation
generated a radiation belt that lasted for months and caused the destruction of many satellites.
On July 25, a second attempt was made at launching Bluegill, dubbed "Bluegill Prime", but was a
failure due to malfunction. On the missile's destruction, the area was contaminated by radioactive
materials, leading to a halt on operations while the site underwent decontamination.
Testing resumed after three months, and on October 15, a third attempt at Bluegill, "Bluegill
Double Prime", took place. Once again, a malfunction caused the test to fail.
On October 19, another test, "Checkmate", was launched and successfully detonated.
On October 25, the final attempt at launching Bluegill, "Bluegill Triple Prime" took place. The
launch and subsequent detonation was a success.
On November 1, the operation launched "Kingfish", which once again, was considered a success.
The final atmospheric test of Fishbowl took place on November 3, which saw "Tightrope"
launch a missile successfully detonate the warhead.
On August 5, 1963, the Limited Ban Treaty was signed by the U.S., UK, and Soviet Union, banning
nuclear tests in the atmosphere, space, and underwater, largely due to the environmental and
geopolitical fallout created from Starfish Prime's radiation belt. As a workaround, the U.S.
conducts further nuclear tests underground.
In 1975, the Church Committee's investigation into the activities of the CIA, FBI and other
intelligence agencies declassified documents pertaining to Operation Dominic and Operation
Fishbowl, revealing the nature of the nuclear tests to the public. While the tests went a long way
to developing an understanding and advancement of nuclear warfare, the risks to civilians and the
ecosystem brought much criticism.
A report was released in 2010 by the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency entitled
"Collateral Damage to Satellites from an EMP Attack". The report details the damage caused to
satellites by artificial radiation belt's generated by nuclear explosions, including that produced
by
starfish Prime.
Operation Fishbowl consisted of a total of nine high-altitude nuclear tests during 1962, with five proving successful, four being aborted, and one that was cancelled before implementation. Each test consisted of launching a missile that was carrying a nuclear warhead, each producing different yields at different altitudes.
Bluegill was the first test conducted under Fishbowl on June 2, 1962. The nuclear warhead was carried by a Thor missile which successfully launched, but due to radar tracking equipment losing the missile mid-flight, the warhead was destroyed and the test was aborted.
The missile was launched from Johnston Island shortly after midnight. The missile apparently flew a normal trajectory; however, the tracking system lost it. As there were ships and aircraft in the vicinity and no way to predict whether the trajectory was safe, CJTF 8 ordered the missile with its warhead destroyed.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
On July 25, the second Bluegill test was launched, but was deemed a disastous failure as the Thor missile suffered a malfunction, causing it to ignite in flames. The order was given for the missile to be destroyed before it had even launched, but this caused damage to the launch pad and caked the area in radioactive core materials, leading to a halt on operations while the site underwent decontamination.
The missile malfunctioned after ignition but before leaving the launch pad. The Range Safety Officer destroyed the nuclear warhead by radio command. The Thor missile then blew up, which caused extensive damage to the launch pad and associated equipment. Although destruction of the warhead prevented any possible nuclear explosion, it caused extensive alpha contamination of the launch pad. Contaminated debris was also scattered throughout the area of the pad enclosed by the concertina wire.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
The third Bluegill test didn't fare much better than its predecessers, as on October 15, a malfunction caused the Thor missile to lose power, causing it to start tumbling, resulting in its ordered destruction mid-flight. The destruction of the rocket caused some debris to rain down on Johnston Island.
Three heavily instrumented pods were attached to the Thor missile as part of the experimental program. The missile malfunctioned shortly after launch, requiring the Range safety Officer to order the destruction of the warhead approximately 95 seconds after launch. All three pods were recovered.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
The final Bluegill attempt took place on October 25. The launch was a success, with the Thor missile carrying the nuclear warhead to an altitude of approximately 48 kilometres where it detonated, producing a yield of between 200 to 400 kilotons. The explosion caused two military personnel to suffer retina damage.
Observers at Johnston Island saw a brilliant white flash, and a noticeable thermal pulse could be felt on bare skin. A slightly distorted bright moon-like sphere was observed -- yellow at first and gradually showing hues of green. pink, and violet -- and blue-purple Streamers were formed. At 10 minutes the glow was bright enough that a watch could be read in the dark and ft persisted for at least 30 mlnutes. At Samoa, observers saw a pink band at the horizon. which faded after about 10 minutes to gray.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
On June 19, the first Starfish test took place but the Thor missile began to break apart after the rocket engine suddenly stopped mid-flight. Once again, the warhead was ordered to be destroyed with no nuclear detonation taking place. Pieces of the missile fell onto Johnston Island and its surrounding waters, with diving teams sent to retrieve any debris. It was found that some of the recovered pieces were contaminated with plutonium.
The Thor missile with two experimental reentry vehicles replacing two of the three instrument pods flew a normal course for about 59 seconds after liftoff. At that time the rocket motor stopped and the Range Safety Officer ordered the missile and warhead destroyed... One of the reentry vehicles, the instrument pod, and missile parts fell on Johnston Island... Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Underwater Demolitlon Team swimmers spent 2 weeks recovering debris from the lagoon waters around the island. They recovered approximately 250 pieces of the system, some of which were plutonim-contaminated
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
On July 8, the second Starfish test was launched and was the first test to successfully detonate,
with the Thor missile carrying the warhead to an altitude of 400 kilometres where it detonated with
a yield of around 1.4 to 1.45 megatons at an.
The detonation caused an EMP larger than expected, affecting test instrumentation, as well as
causing blackouts and setting off alarms across Hawaii. Vivid auroras could be seen across the
detonation area as well as the opposite side of the equator, and the radiation belt generated from
the blast lasted for months, and caused major damage to U.S., UK, and Soviet satellites.
The large amount of energy released at such a high altitude by the detonation caused widespread auroras throughout the Pacific area, lasting in some cases as long as 15 minutes; these were observed on both sides of the equator. In Honolulu an overcast, nighttime sky was turned into day for 6 minutes... Observers on Kwajalein 1.400 miles (about 2,600 km) west reported a spectacular display lasting at least 7 minutes. At Johnston Island all major visible phenomena had disappeared by 7 minutes except for a a faint red glow. The Earth's geomagnetic field also was observed to respond to the burst.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
On October 19, Checkmate was launched with a nuclear warhead being carried by an XM-33 Strypi rocket. The nuclear warhead successfully detonated at an altitude of 147 kilometres, and while the yield of the nuclear explosion remained classified, it was reported to have been between 10 to 20 kilotons.
Observers on Johnston Island saw a green and blue circular region surrounded by a blood-red ring formed overhead that faded in less than 1 minute. Blue-green streamers and numerous pink striations formed. the latter lasting for 30 minutes. Observers at Samoa saw a white flash, which faded to orange and disappeared in about 1 minute.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
Kingfish launched on November 1, which once again saw a Thor rocket carrying the nuclear warhead.
The rocket reached an altitude of around 96 kilometres before the warhead successfully detonated,
producing a yield of between 200 - 400 kilotons.
A report released by the U.S. Department of Defense described the explosion as it happened:
Johnston Island observers saw a yellow-white, luminous circle with intense purple streamers for the first minute. Some of the streamers displayed what appeared to be a rapid twisting motion at times. A large pale-green patch appeared somewhat south of the burst and grew, becoming the dominant visible feature after 5 minutes. By H+1 the green had become dull gray, but the feature persisted for 3 hours. At Oahu a bright flash was observed and after about 10 seconds a great white ball appeared to rise slowly out of the sea and was visible for about 9 minutes.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
Tightrope was the final atmospheric test of Fishbowl and took place on November 3. The operation launched a Nike-Hercules missile to an altitude of 21 kilometres and successfully detonate the warhead, producing a yield of between 10 to 20 kilotons. This was the lowest altitude test of the entire operation.
At Johnston Island, there was an intense white flash. Even with high-density goggles, the burst was too bright to view, even for a few seconds. A distinct thermal pulse was also felt on the bare skin. A yellow-orange disc was formed, which transformed itself into a purple doughnut. A glowing purple cloud was faintly visible for a few minutes.
- Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency
Operation Dominic I,
1962
Originally intended to take place in June, Urraca was set to be the highest altitude test of the entire operation but was cancelled due to fears of damage it may have caused subsequent to the effects of Starfish Prime.
Due to the covert nature of Operation Fishbowl, there have been a few theories regarding the nuclear tests that suggest there was more to the operation than what the U.S. government let on.
A popular theory among those that subscribe to the flat-earth concept is that the real purpose of
Fishbowl was to test or create a hole in a firmament that domes the supposed disc-shaped
earth, protecting us from external waters.
The original concept that a firmament surrounds the earth stems as far back as ancient Babylonian
mythology, on into Egyptian texts and through to verses in the Bible:
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
- The Bible
"Genesis 1:7",
2019
Flat Earthers point to the naming of the operation, "Fishbowl", as an insinuation that Earth is surrounded by a firmament, and that the high-altitude missiles that were launched likely detonated on impact with the dome, rather than being remotely detonated, therefore being unsuccessful in penetrating the firmament.
A lesser considered theory is that the high-altitude warhead tests were a response to the increased sightings of UFOs around the early 1960s, though a 2024 Department of Defense report revealed that the likely explanation for such sightings was due to U.S. spy plane and space technology tests:
Many of these technologies fit the description of a stereotypical Unidentified Flying Object (UFO). It is understandable how observers unfamiliar with these programs could mistake sightings of these new technologies as something extraordinary, even other-worldly.
- The Department of Defense All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement
with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Volume I,
2024
