In the postwar era, Las Vegas would become the center of a new era in entertainment that was about to explode. In addition to being the world capital of gambling, though, Vegas would be thrust to the forefront of great scientific and cultural changes.
Nevada was chosen as a prime location for US nuclear testing, and the fallout would shape the town’s history over the next four decades as much as the music, sin, and fortunes won and lost on the tables.
Over 900 nuclear detonations would be witnessed between 1951 and the end of the cold war
At a test site within sight of the city, over 900 nuclear detonations would be witnessed between 1951 and the end of the Cold War, and for a few decades, it wasn’t just the Strip that was lighting up the sky. The atomic age had arrived.
Able
As the Cold War began to take shape, the US began seeking the ideal location for nuclear testing, and found it just 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Trinity, the world’s first nuclear test, had taken place in New Mexico, but the Nevada Test Site (NTS) was deemed to be more suitable as a permanent location.
On January 27, 1951, the first nuclear test occurred at the site, codenamed “Able.”The 1-kiloton bomb was dropped from a B-50 bomber, with the resulting explosion and mushroom cloud well visible from the burgeoning city of Las Vegas, beginning a relationship with the atomic age that was to grow in the coming years.
Atomic cocktails
Over the next two years, atomic testing became a commonplace occurrence at the NTS, with the rapidly-expanding Las Vegas capitalizing on its position at the heart of the atomic age. Viewing parties became commonplace, as tourists would flock to witness the tests from the comfort of luxury hotels while drinking “atomic cocktails.”
The most famous test of the era was probably “Annie,” a 16-kiloton shell that was detonated to determine the effects of a nuclear blast on humans, motor vehicles, and structures. Remarkably, most of the cars placed near the blast site were able to drive away after the bomb.
Accidental launch
As the end of the 1950s approached, the US government began making its first tentative steps toward moving atomic testing underground. As a result, Las Vegas would become not only the center of the atomic age but also kick off the space age – entirely by accident.
it blew the steel cap off the shaft at an estimated speed of 125,000 miles per hour
On August 27, 1957, “Pascal-B,” an underground test, took place. When the bomb detonated inside its deep underground well, it blew the steel cap off the shaft at an estimated speed of 125,000 miles per hour. The cap was never located, but at the speed of the launch, it is plausible that it would have become the first object to be unintentionally launched into space – less than two months before Sputnik would become the world’s first artificial satellite.
Sedan
With the dawn of the 1960s, the first signs of the long-term problems with atomic testing began to manifest. “Sedan,” a 104-kiloton underground blast, would create what remains one of the largest man-made craters in the US today. The purpose of the experiment was to determine if nuclear weapons could be feasible for use in excavation projects.
While it certainly worked for its stated purpose, displacing more than 12 million tons of earth, the radioactive fallout made the weapons completely unsuitable for any construction projects. Notably, the environmental damage would begin to sway public opinion against nuclear testing.
End of an era
Following the Sedan test and the growing awareness of the dangers of radiation, the United States and the Soviet Union would sign the Test Ban Treaty the following year, prohibiting nuclear explosions in the open atmosphere, ocean, and outer space, confining them to underground tests only.
the ground could be felt literally shifting beneath the feet of gamblers
However, the move would not completely end the experience of nuclear tests for Vegas residents. From time to time, the ground could be felt literally shifting beneath the feet of gamblers as vast explosions were carried out underground at the test site.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 90s, the US would conduct one last nuclear test in 1992, named “Divider.” Afterward, with little need to pursue a nuclear arms race, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was introduced in 1996. Today, the site is still used for nuclear research, just without any of the gigantic explosions.
The nuclear age thankfully ended by fizzling out rather than in atomic hellfire, but the testing left its mark on the turbulent history of Vegas. Today, visitors can still explore the National Atomic Testing Museum, as well as the Sedan crater, to witness the visible scars of a bygone era.