A message from Starbird to Hertford with information to the labs on 3 wel’ Dek
———————),

that he is more or less carrying out the proposal that he had proposed a couple of weeks
earlier and indicating AEC agreement to provide warheads and diagnostic packages for the

2 highest Willow shots and recommended the DOD to proceed planning for outerspace
experiments along the lines described in the ARDC plan.

Starbird notes that Willow

planning is going ahead for shots in the fall of 61 with the DOD point of contact
veing ABMA and that he feels the organizational responsibilites and command and control
lines of authority can be worked out later if approval for the tests is granted.

As

‘or the outerspace proposal, AFBMD is handling this planning and ALOO is requested

to have the labs to proceed with the engineering and development planning for an
\EC package to contain the warhead, arming, fusing, firing, safing, diagnostic equipment,
ind related telemetry and data analysis for such a shot.

ennsee

share gives a summary
Further discussion of the Gnome shot and Plow

of the objectives:

nuclear
'(1)To expiore the feasibility of concluding

d be available
explosive energy into latent heat which woul

of electric power;

A
éy a
a

1960:
Aeeting #1590, 4 February
ncnn

for the production

ng from
(2) To investigate the feasibility of recoveri

nuclear explosives; and (3) To
natural salt useful isotopes produced by

—___

of an underground explosion ina
extent knowledge about characteristics

——

properties in marked contrast
medium (natural salt) having physical

h such information is presently
to the only medium (volcanic tuff) for whic
available.''

this meeting that it
Also note that the Commission felt at

uct a Ditchdigger experiment in the
probably would not be possible to cond

re configuration of the tunnel and
near future, at least where the enti

on.
instru-aentation could be open for inspecti

Select target paragraph3