Harman Patil (Editor)

596 (nuclear test)

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Test site
  
Lop Nur Test Base

Test type
  
Atmospheric

Previous test
  
None

Country
  
China

Period
  
October 16, 1964

Device type
  
Fission

Start date
  
October 16, 1964

Number of tests
  
1

596 (nuclear test) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Max. yield
  
22 kilotons of TNT (92 TJ)

Similar
  
Agathe, Canopus, Smiling Buddha, Sedan, Castle Bravo

596, originally named by the US intelligence agencies Chic-1, is the codename of the People's Republic of China's first nuclear weapons test, detonated on October 16, 1964, at the Lop Nur test site. It was a uranium-235 implosion fission device and had a yield of 22 kilotons. With the test, China became the fifth nuclear power.

In response, the Taiwanese leadership, including President Chiang Kai-shek, called for a military response against Chinese nuclear facilities and the formation of an Asian anti-communist defense organisation.

Project 596 was named after the month of June 1959 in which it was initiated, immediately after Nikita Khrushchev decided to stop helping the Chinese with their nuclear program on 20 June 1959.

Specifics

  • Time: 07:00 GMT 16 October 1964
  • Location: Lop Nur Test Ground, 40°48′45″N 89°47′24″E, about 70 km northwest of Lop Nor dry lake
  • Test Height and Type: Tower, 102 meters
  • Yield: 22 kilotons
  • References

    596 (nuclear test) Wikipedia