Explosion of the Chagan nuclear test conducted at the Semipalatinsk Test Site on January 15,...

HD footage shows the explosion of the Chagan nuclear test conducted at the Semipalatinsk Test Site on January 15, 1965. Filmed on 35mm. Chagan was the first and largest of the 124 detonations in the Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy program, designed to produce peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs) for earthmoving purposes. Chagan's yield was the equivalent of 140 kilotons of TNT and sought to produce a large conical crater suitable for a lake. The site was a dry bed of the Chagan River (tributary of Irtysh River) at the edge of the Semipalatinsk Test Site, and was chosen such that the lip of the crater would dam the river during its high spring flow. The resultant lake has a diameter of 408 m (1,339 ft) and is 100 m (330 ft) deep.