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First US Atomic Bomb Detonated
Began the threat of US nuclear superiority -
USSR detonates their first atomic bomb
End of U.S. monopoly on atomic threat. -
America tests hydrogen bomb
Also known as thermo-nuclear bomb, a significant power increase above a typical nuclear bomb. -
Massive Retaliation
Idea announced by Eisenhower, fueled the idea of MAD -
Near misses
During the Suez Crisis, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) received a number of simultaneous reports, including unidentified aircraft over Turkey, Soviet MiG-15 fighters over Syria, and unexpected maneuvers by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet through the Dardanelles that appeared to signal a Soviet offensive. -
First ICBM missile launched by USSR
Named the R-7, was a significant range increase. Posed a major threat to the US because they could strike from farther than they could. -
Sputnik put into orbit
Major soviet advance in space-race, moral shift, showed society that the USSR was a very strong world power. -
US develop ICBM technology
After first testing a domestic built nuclear weapon in 1964, it went on to develop various warheads and missiles. Beginning in the early 1970s, the liquid fuelled DF-5 ICBM was developed and used as a satellite launch vehicle in 1975. -
U-2 Incident
USAF spy aircraft shot down over USSR -
Near misses
Radar equipment in Thule, Greenland mistakenly interpreted a moonrise over Norway as a large-scale Soviet missile launch. Upon receiving a report of the supposed attack, NORAD went on high alert. However, doubts about the authenticity of the attack arose due to the presence of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in New York as head of the USSR's United Nations delegation. -
Soviets detonate Tsar Bomba
An unnecessarily large bomb meant for intimidation -
First human spaceflight
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space when he orbited the Earth in a Vostok spacecraft on April 12, 1961. About a month later Alan Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space on May 5, 1961, when he was launched aboard Mercury-Redstone 3 -
Near misses
Since these communication lines were designed to be redundant and independent from one another, the communications failure was interpreted as either a very unlikely coincidence or a coordinated attack. SAC HQ prepared the entire ready force for takeoff before already-overhead aircraft confirmed that there did not appear to be an attack. It was later found that the failure of a single relay station in Colorado was the sole cause of the communications problem -
McNamara proposed idea of counterforce
Heavily criticized as only being preemptive. -
Cuban MIssile Crisis
Soviet missiles placed in Cuba, and US missiles in Turkey. End results were the withdrawal of missiles from Cuba and Turkey and the creation of the nuclear hotline. -
Near misses
At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet patrol submarine B-59 almost launched a nuclear-tipped torpedo while under harassment by American naval forces. B-59 dove to avoid detection and was unable to communicate with Moscow for a number of days. USS Beadle began dropping practice depth charges to signal B-59 to surface, however the Soviet submarine took these to be real depth charges. -
Partial Test Ban Treaty
Did not include China, but the other major world powers agreed to stop testing nuclear bombs anywhere but underground, partially because of the risk of nuclear fallout, and partially to slow the arms race and move towards détente -
Near misses
The Command Center of the Office of Emergency Planning went on full alert after a massive power outage in the northeastern United States. Several nuclear bomb detectors—used to distinguish between regular power outages and power outages caused by a nuclear blast—near major U.S. cities malfunctioned due to circuit errors, creating the illusion of a nuclear attack. -
Near misses
A powerful solar flare accompanied by a coronal mass ejection interfered with multiple NORAD radars over the Northern Hemisphere. This interference was initially interpreted as intentional jamming of the radars by the Soviets, thus an act of war. A nuclear bomber counter-strike was nearly launched by the U.S -
US develop MIRV systems
Added great accuracy to missiles -
USSR develop defensive ABM systems
History of Russia's Anti-ballistic Missile (ABM) System. In 1962-63, the Soviet Union began constructing the world's first working ABM system, which was designed to protect Moscow. ... Like the US Safeguard system, the Soviet system used a nuclear-armed missile (called the Galosh) as its interceptor. -
Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nations with nuclear capabilities agreed to not spread nuclear weapons and technology to nations without nuclear capabilities. -
USSR develop MIRV systems
Add greater accuracy to missiles -
Near misses
NORAD computers then placed the number of incoming missiles at 2,200. Strategic Air Command was notified, and nuclear bombers prepared for takeoff. Within six to seven minutes of the initial response, satellite and radar systems were able to confirm that the attack was a false alarm.[16][7] It was found that a training scenario was inadvertently loaded into an operational computer. Commenting on the incident, U.S. -
Near misses
One of four Soviet missiles launched from a submarine near the Kuril Islands was detected by an American early warning sensor and determined to be heading towards the United States -
Strategic Defense Initiative
Proposed idea of a laser based anti-missile system, would be an end to MAD. Unrealistic technology, but in combination with the failing USSR economy, was enough to end the Cold War -
Near misses
Several weeks after the downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 over Soviet airspace, a satellite early-warning system near Moscow reported the launch of one American Minuteman ICBM. Soon after, it reported that five missiles had been launched. Convinced that a real Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov of the Air Defense Forces refused to acknowledge the threat as legitimate and continued to convince his superiors that it was a false alarm until this could be confirmed by ground radar