Nuclear explosive

Never built, this vessel would use repeated nuclear explosions to propel itself and was considered surprisingly practical.

A nuclear explosion could be used to create a harbor, or a mountain pass, or possibly large underground cavities for use as storage space.

It was thought that detonating a nuclear explosive in oil-rich rock could make it possible to extract more from the deposit, e.g. note the Canadian Project Oilsand.

The purpose of the operation was to use peaceful nuclear explosions for moving and lifting enormous amounts of earth and rock during construction projects such as building reservoirs.

Failure to meet objectives, along with the realization of the dangers of nuclear fallout and other residual radioactivity, and with the enactment of various agreements such as the Partial Test Ban Treaty and the Outer Space Treaty, has led to the termination of most of these programs.

The 1962 Sedan nuclear test formed a crater 100 m (330 ft) deep with a diameter of about 390 m (1,300 ft), as a means of investigating the possibilities of using peaceful nuclear explosions for large-scale earth moving.