1978 Soviet nuclear tests explained

1978
Picture Description:	Nuclear blast animation
Country:	Soviet Union
Test Site:	Atyrau, Kazakhstan; Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; Khanty-Mansi, Russia; Krasnoyarsk, Russia; NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia; Sakha, Russia; Sary-Uzen/Murzhik, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
Period:	1978
Number Of Tests:	31
Test Type:	underground shaft, tunnel
Max Yield:	180ktTNT
Next Series:	1979 Soviet nuclear tests

The Soviet Union's 1978 nuclear test series was a group of 31 nuclear tests conducted in 1978. These tests ^[1] followed the 1977 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1979 Soviet nuclear tests series.

Soviet Union's 1978 series tests and detonations
- !style="background:#ffdead;"	Name ^[2] !style="background:#efefef;"	Date time (UT) !style="background:#ffdead;"	Local time zone^[3] ^[4] !style="background:#efefef;"	Location^[5] !style="background:#ffdead;"	Elevation + height ^[6] !style="background:#efefef;"	Delivery, ^[7] Purpose ^[8] !style="background:#efefef;"	Device^[9] !style="background:#ffdead;"	Yield^[10] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable"	Fallout^[11] !style="background:#ffdead;" class="unsortable"	References !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable"	Notes	- ! 481	03:46:59.82	ALMT (6 hrs)	Sary-Uzen/Murzhik, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 2691 49.8062°N 78.1169°W	460m (1,510feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 482 – 1	03:56:59.96	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 701 49.7643°N 77.9993°W	704m (2,310feet) – 260m (850feet)	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 482 – 2	03:57:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 701 49.7643°N 77.9993°W	704m (2,310feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 483 – 1	03:07:00.01	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 204 49.7469°N 78.1251°W	579m (1,900feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 483 – 2	03:07:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 204 49.7469°N 78.1251°W	579m (1,900feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 483 – 3	03:07:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 204 49.7469°N 78.1251°W	579m (1,900feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 484	03:07:00	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 185p 49.7472°N 78.0581°W	394m (1,293feet) +	tunnel, safety experiment						- ! 485	04:56:59.85	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 133p 49.7986°N 78.1022°W	686m (2,251feet) +	tunnel, weapon effect						- ! 486		ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 185-pp 49.7483°N 78.0601°W	394m (1,293feet) +	tunnel, safety experiment						- ! 487	02:57:00.14	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1010 49.9141°N 78.8012°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 488	02:47:00.05	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1077 49.9038°N 78.8665°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 489 – 1	02:46:59.89	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 104 49.7488°N 78.0893°W	623m (2,044feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 489 – 2	02:46:59.9	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 104 49.7488°N 78.0893°W	623m (2,044feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 489 – 3	02:46:59.9	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 104 49.7488°N 78.0893°W	623m (2,044feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 489 – 4	02:46:59.9	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 104 49.7488°N 78.0893°W	623m (2,044feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 489 – 5	02:46:59.9	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 104 49.7488°N 78.0893°W	623m (2,044feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 490 Kraton 4 (Craton)	18:00:00.8	YAKT (9 hrs)	Sakha, Russia: KR-4 63.678°N 125.522°W	– 560m (1,840feet)	underground shaft, seismic sounding					Seismic probing program.	- ! 491 – 1	07:59:57.93	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-18 73.291°N 54.883°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 491 – 2	07:59:57.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-18 73.291°N 54.883°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 491 – 3	07:59:57.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-18 73.291°N 54.883°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 491 – 4	07:59:57.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-18 73.291°N 54.883°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 491 – 5	07:59:57.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-18 73.291°N 54.883°W	100m (300feet) – 500m (1,600feet)	tunnel, weapons development			Venting detected on site, 70Ci			- ! 491 – 6	07:59:57.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-18 73.291°N 54.883°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, fundamental science						- ! 492 Kraton 3 (Craton)	18:00:00.4	YAKT (9 hrs)	Sakha, Russia: KR-3 65.925°N 112.338°W	– 577m (1,893feet)	underground shaft, seismic sounding			Venting detected			- ! 493 – 1	02:36:59.95	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 107 49.8074°N 78.1091°W	770m (2,530feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 493 – 2	02:37:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 107 49.8074°N 78.1091°W	770m (2,530feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 493 – 3	02:37:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 107 49.8074°N 78.1091°W	770m (2,530feet) +	tunnel, safety experiment						- ! 494	02:37:08.75	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1228 50.0097°N 78.9667°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 495 Galit A2.4 (Halite)	04:59:58.5	SHET (5 hrs)	Atyrau, Kazakhstan: A-II-5 47.909°N 47.912°W	– 600m (2,000feet)	underground shaft, industrial					Create reservoirs for gas storage. A fizzle.	- ! 496	02:36:59.97	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1211 49.9294°N 78.8614°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 497	05:03:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 605p 49.7934°N 78.1447°W	660m (2,170feet) +	tunnel, weapon effect						- ! 498 Kraton 2 (Craton)	15:00:00.2	KRAT (7 hrs)	Krasnoyarsk, Russia: KR-2 66.598°N 86.21°W	– 890m (2,920feet)	underground shaft, seismic sounding					Seismic probing program.	- ! 499 – 1	02:04:58.6	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-19 73.349°N 54.676°W	100m (300feet) – 350m (1,150feet)	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 499 – 2	02:04:58.6	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-19 73.349°N 54.676°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 499 – 3	02:04:58.6	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-19 73.349°N 54.676°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 499 – 4	02:04:58.6	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-19 73.349°N 54.676°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 499 – 5	02:04:58.6	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-19 73.349°N 54.676°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 499 – 6	02:04:58.6	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-19 73.349°N 54.676°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 499 – 7	02:04:58.6	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area B, Matochkin Shar, Novaya Zemlya, Russia: A-19 73.349°N 54.676°W	100m (300feet) +	tunnel, safety experiment						- ! 500 Vyatka (Neva)	00:00:??	YAKT (9 hrs)	Sakha, Russia: 43 61.55°N 112.85°W	– 1545m (5,069feet)	underground shaft, oil stimulation						- ! 501	05:37:00.14	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 200ASM 49.7395°N 78.1127°W	645m (2,116feet) +	tunnel, weapon effect						- ! 502 Galit A7 (Halite) – 1	04:59:59.1	SHET (5 hrs)	Atyrau, Kazakhstan: A-VII 47.8466°N 48.1204°W	– 1040m (3,410feet)	underground shaft, cavity excavation					Create reservoirs for gas storage.	- ! 502 Galit A7 (Halite) – 2	04:59:59.1	SHET (5 hrs)	Atyrau, Kazakhstan: A-VII 47.8466°N 48.1204°W	+	underground shaft, cavity excavation					Create reservoirs for gas storage.	- ! 503 Kraton 1 (Craton)	14:00:00.2	SVET (5 hrs)	Khanty-Mansi, Russia: KR-1 63.185°N 63.432°W	– 593m (1,946feet)	underground shaft, seismic sounding					Seismic probing program.	- ! 504	04:17:00.19	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 194 49.7875°N 78.0974°W	638m (2,093feet) +	tunnel, fundamental science						- ! 505 – 1	05:05:59.86	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1302 50.0471°N 78.9463°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 505 – 2	05:05:59.9	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1302 50.0417°N 78.9472°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 506 – 1	04:33:00.17	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1222 49.9547°N 78.794°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 506 – 2	04:33:00.2	ALMT (6 hrs)	Balapan, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 1222 49.9547°N 78.794°W	330m (1,080feet) +	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! 507	04:33:04.99	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 162 49.7826°N 78.0073°W	750m (2,460feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 508 Galit A2.5 (Halite)	07:59:59.1	SHET (5 hrs)	Atyrau, Kazakhstan: A-II-6 47.909°N 47.912°W	– 600m (2,000feet)	underground shaft, industrial					Create reservoirs for gas storage. A fizzle.	- ! 509	04:43:00.03	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 113p 49.8061°N 78.1034°W	768m (2,520feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 510 Galit A9 (Halite)	07:59:58.5	SHET (5 hrs)	Atyrau, Kazakhstan: A-IX 47.8569°N 48.1609°W	– 630m (2,070feet)	underground shaft, cavity excavation					Create reservoirs for gas storage.	- ! 511 – 1	04:33:00.04	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 803p 49.8108°N 78.0542°W	722m (2,369feet) +	tunnel, weapons development						- ! 511 – 2	04:33:00.0	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: 803p 49.8108°N 78.0542°W	722m (2,369feet) +	tunnel, weapons development

Notes and References

A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed 5 seconds and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points and does not exceed 40 kilometers in length". V. N. . Mikhailov. Catalog of World Wide Nuclear Testing. Begell-Atom, LLC. 2013-12-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20140426102201/http://www.iss-atom.ru/ksenia/catal_nt/1.htm. 2014-04-26. dead.
The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
Web site: Time Zone Historical Database. iana.com. March 8, 2014.
Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.