A manhole cover launched into space with a nuclear test is the fastest human-made object. A scientist on Operation Plumbbob told us the unbelievable story.

Rebecca HarringtonMar 3, 2023, 07:32 IST

The pockmarked Nevada Testing Site, strewn with craters from all the nuclear weapons tests that took place there.NNSA

Robert Brownlee was on the Operation Plumbbob team that launched an object in space before Sputnik.
They put a manhole cover above a nuke underground, and the explosion shot the iron cap into space.

When I first saw this story on an old Quora thread, I didn't believe it.

Pedestrians walk past a manhole cover that wasn't shot into space in Berkeley, California, on July 18, 2019.AP/Jeff Chiu

From 1945 until 1992, the US detonated 1,054 nuclear bombs in tests.

DOE

By the 1950s, the US government and the public were concerned with the radiation that nuclear bombs could release into the atmosphere.

The last US nuclear bomb to be tested, nicknamed "The Divider," being loaded underground for detonation on September 23, 1992.LANL

But the very first underground nuclear tests were a bit of an experiment — nobody knew exactly what might happen.

The mushroom cloud from the Uncle test at the Nevada Test Site on November 29, 1951, reached 11,500 feet.Department of Energy

The underground nuclear tests we're interested in were nicknamed "Pascal," during Operation Plumbbob in 1957.

Sadly, no images are left from the Pascal experiments. All that's left are government documents like this one.NNSA

Brownlee wanted to measure how fast the iron cap flew off the column, so he designed a second experiment, Pascal-B, and got an incredible calculation.

Herbert Grier, director of timing and firing, seated at the firing console in control room during an Operation Plumbbob test.NNSA

Pascal-B's estimated iron cover speed dwarfs the 36,373 mph that the New Horizons spacecraft — which many have called the fastest object launched by humankind — eventually reached while traveling toward Pluto.

An artist's rendering of the New Horizons spacecraft approaching Pluto.NASA

Pascal-B's estimated iron cover speed dwarfs the 36,373 mph that the New Horizons spacecraft — which many have called the fastest object launched by humankind — eventually reached while traveling toward Pluto.

Brownlee said he expected the manhole cover to fall back to Earth, but they never found it. He concluded it was going too fast to burn up before reaching outer space.

WT1190F, a hollow seven-foot piece of space junk, seen burning up as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on November 13, 2015.IAC/UAE/NASA/ESA

Mere months after the Pascal tests, October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. While the USSR was the first to launch a satellite, Brownlee was probably the first to launch an object into space.

On Oct. 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 successfully launched and entered Earth's orbit.NASA/Asif A. Siddiqi

Mere months after the Pascal tests, October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. While the USSR was the first to launch a satellite, Brownlee was probably the first to launch an object into space.

So the next time you look up at the stars, remember Brownlee's story. Somewhere out there, a manhole cover launched by a nuclear bomb is probably speeding away from Earth at about 125,000 mph.

Bryan Allen/Getty Images

So the next time you look up at the stars, remember Brownlee's story. Somewhere out there, a manhole cover launched by a nuclear bomb is probably speeding away from Earth at about 125,000 mph.

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A manhole cover launched into space with a nuclear test is the fastest human-made object. A scientist on Operation Plumbbob told us the unbelievable story.

When I first saw this story on an old Quora thread, I didn't believe it.

From 1945 until 1992, the US detonated 1,054 nuclear bombs in tests.

By the 1950s, the US government and the public were concerned with the radiation that nuclear bombs could release into the atmosphere.

But the very first underground nuclear tests were a bit of an experiment — nobody knew exactly what might happen.

The underground nuclear tests we're interested in were nicknamed "Pascal," during Operation Plumbbob in 1957.

Brownlee wanted to measure how fast the iron cap flew off the column, so he designed a second experiment, Pascal-B, and got an incredible calculation.

Pascal-B's estimated iron cover speed dwarfs the 36,373 mph that the New Horizons spacecraft — which many have called the fastest object launched by humankind — eventually reached while traveling toward Pluto.

Brownlee said he expected the manhole cover to fall back to Earth, but they never found it. He concluded it was going too fast to burn up before reaching outer space.

Mere months after the Pascal tests, October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. While the USSR was the first to launch a satellite, Brownlee was probably the first to launch an object into space.

So the next time you look up at the stars, remember Brownlee's story. Somewhere out there, a manhole cover launched by a nuclear bomb is probably speeding away from Earth at about 125,000 mph.