Frenchman Flat is a hydrographic basin in the Nevada National Security Site south of Yucca Flat and north of Mercury, Nevada . The flat was used as an American nuclear test site and has a 5.8 sq mi (15 km) dry lake bed (Frenchman Lake) that was used as a 1950s airstrip before it was chosen after the start of the Korean War for the Nevada Proving Grounds. Nellis Air Force Base land 12 mi × 30 mi (19 km × 48 km) was transferred to the Atomic Energy Commission on which Site Mercury was constructed on the flat for supporting American nuclear explosive tests . The 1951 Operation Ranger "Able" test (ground zero at UTM Coordinates 923758 on the flat) was the first continental US nuclear detonation after the 1945 Trinity test, and Frenchman Flat also had the only detonation of an American artillery-fired nuclear projectile in the 1953 Upshot-Knothole Grable test using the M65 Atomic Cannon .
13-874: Area 5 consists of 95 square miles (250 km) of the southeastern portion of NTS, north of the town of Mercury , and includes the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, the Hazardous Waste Storage Unit, and the Spill Test Facility. In the decade 1951–1962, 14 above ground nuclear tests were conducted at Frenchman Flat; several of these atmospheric tests were weapons effects tests. A relatively modest 8-kiloton blast in January 1951 broke storefront windows in Las Vegas. Tests to determine building damage by nuclear blasts have left remains at
26-502: A full-service post office in the mid-1950s, Base Camp Mercury was formally renamed Mercury, Nevada. In 1957, the US Navy launched nine atmospheric sounding rockets to measure nuclear radiation and other atmospheric data, using Mercury as a staging area. The Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory conducted its first test flight in 1956. This test rocket lifted 13.6 kilograms (30 lb) to an altitude of 40 kilometres (25 mi). In
39-407: A military-style encampment built to provide basic facilities for personnel involved. As the scope of the testing program expanded, so did the number of personnel required to fulfill the site's mission, and beginning in 1951 a $ 6.7 million construction project was undertaken to provide adequate individual housing, office, and service structures with a civilian village-like design. With the acquisition of
52-414: A tank farm, a wind tunnel, elevated stacks and spill pans, and storage tanks for the test chemicals. The facility houses both large-scale and small-scale hazardous materials testing and training. It provides a secure test-bed, calibrated release systems, weather data, ground truth instrumentation, and logistics in field verification and validation of technology. Area 11 covers 26 square miles (67 km) of
65-638: Is a closed village in Nye County , Nevada , United States, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of U.S. Route 95 at a point 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Las Vegas . It is situated within the Nevada National Security Site and was constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission to house and service the staff of the test site. The specific site was known as Jackass Flats and nearby Nevada Test Site 400. Today,
78-529: Is stored. The Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC), formerly called the Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Spill Center, is located on Frenchman Flat in Area 5, a natural geological basin. It is the world's largest facility for open-air testing of hazardous materials and biological simulants. It includes a control building with data acquisition and recording instruments, a command and control computer, and support personnel. The test area has
91-651: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Mercury has a cold desert climate , abbreviated "BWk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Mercury was 114 °F (46 °C) on July 11, 2021, while the coldest temperature recorded was 6 °F (−14 °C) on December 22, 1990. Desert Rock Airport Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
104-482: The U.S. has not yet ratified the treaty). The population shrank rapidly thereafter, leaving most of the facilities abandoned. A skeleton crew of scientists and military remains in Mercury, conducting limited testing and research. Most of the amenities have closed, and the village is now a shell of its former self, although dining, bar facilities, and a gym remain. The current population is unknown and fluctuates. The last known census recorded about 500 people. According to
117-466: The early 1960s the village population grew to over 10,000, and further construction work was undertaken to upgrade the permanence of the village. A school was established, and numerous recreational and shopping facilities were added, including a movie theater, bowling alley, recreation hall, swimming pool, and hobby center, as well as a full-care health clinic, library, lodging (the Atomic Motel being
130-556: The eastern border of NTS. Four atmospheric plutonium-dispersal safety tests were conducted in the northern portion of Area 11 in 1954 and 1956. Hazardous residues from these tests continue to provide a realistic environment for safety training, radiological monitoring, sampling instruction and first-responder drills. Five underground nuclear weapons were detonated in Area 11 from 1966 to 1971. 36°48′26″N 115°56′07″W / 36.807305°N 115.935379°W / 36.807305; -115.935379 ] Mercury, Nevada Mercury
143-747: The most prominent example), a non-denominational chapel with a cadre of chaplains, a service station with a garage, and a bus station. In 1962, the Desert Rock Airport was added for the visit from President John F. Kennedy on December 8. The village flourished until 1992, when all but subcritical nuclear testing ended at the Nevada Test Site, as a result of the United States honoring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (even though
SECTION 10
#1732783432883156-498: The site is governed by the United States Department of Energy . As part of the test site, the village is not accessible to the general public. It was named after the mercury mines which flourished in its general vicinity a century before the village itself was established. The current population is unknown. The village started in 1950 at the beginning of operations of the Nevada Test Site as Base Camp Mercury ,
169-435: The site that are of historical interest. Five underground nuclear weapons were detonated at Frenchman Flat between 1965 and 1968. A carbonate aquifer makes Area 5 not well suited to underground testing, so there were fewer detonations carried out. The Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site covers 732 acres (296 ha), a section of desert land used for low-level waste disposal. Mixed waste, including transuranic mixed waste,
#882117