“|
studied to date were discussed in some length.
The fifst of these is called
5
WIRTS which means weapons intermediate range testing system and would allow
/
the capability of testing at altitudes from 100 to {,000 kilometers using
boosters such as the Thor
trom Johnston Island and
rocket-borne
diagnostics.
The cost of such a program is fair
ly moderate,
tess than
10 million dollars and the fall-o
ut danger is quite small due to
the
altitude.
If no contamination of the atmosp
here is allowed, meaningful
tests could be conducted at abo
ut | million ki lometers employing
the ASWT
”
+or
concept, which stands for Adv
anced SystemsWeapons Testin
g, and this was
the one study which would use
the Atlas vehicles and would
take anywhere
from 9 to 24 months to be ready.
A
A TWX on 11Decfrom Betts to Reeves of ALO, Shuster of Sandia, Ogle of
LASL and Howell of H&N notes the plans for a survey trip by these gentlemen
and Gen. Starbird and JTF-8 staff members to the Hawaiian area and Johnston
Island starting on the 12th of Dec.
A TWX on 11 Dec, from Betts to Foster and Bradbury notes the possible problems
with the "Christmas tree" concept that LRL had been pushing for some time
and that following the contamination problemsarrising from such happenings
as those following Antler and the situation arrising after Chena, there is
considerable scepticism in DMA regarding this concept. These experiences
plus other unknowns make a thorough and timely examination of the Christmas
tree concept as opposed to the outer space testing concept immediately neces- A
sary.
And due to the high cost involved with developing either one of these
capabilities it seems clear to Betts that both of them can't be developed
and therefore a choice must be made at an early time.
He asks both LASL and
Livermore to prepare a discussion of the advantages and cisadvantages of
the Christmas Tree concept and submit these on 14 Dec to the chairman so that
an early decision and an early concentration of resources may be made.
An 11 Dec.Memo for record written by Col. McMillan of the DMA Test Office
is on the subject of "Pacific Islands Discussion with Representatives of
Department of State and Department of the Interior''. The meeting was held
on 1] Dec to discuss the possibie use of 3 U.S.
Howland.
islands, Jarvis,
Baker and
These islands have no inhabitants and are being thought of as
sights for surface bursts.
The Department of State has no concerns about
these areas for political reasons, however, they are concerned with the
fallout problem.
Also the matter of the birds on Jarvis Island was dis-
cussed but didn't seem to generate much concern.
The conclusion was that
there are no domestic or foreign policy problems which seem to preclude the
use of the islands for the conduct of the proposed tests and that to proceed
separate letters should be sent to the Departments of State and Interior
stating the proposed uses of the islands outlining the safety aspects and
requesting approval.
Both State Department and Interior Department Representatives felt that an affirmative answer would be forthcoming.