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FIrst US Atomic Bomb Detonated July 16, 1945
Began the threat of US nuclear superiority -
USSR detonates their first atomic bomb August 29, 1949
End of U.S. monopoly on atomic threat. -
America tests hydrogen bomb 1952
Also known as thermos-nuclear bomb, a significant power increase above a typical nuclear bomb. -
Massive Retaliation January 1954
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, a downed British Canberra medium bomber, 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 21 August 1957
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 4 October 1957
Major soviet advance in space-race, moral shift, showed society that the USSR was a very strong world power. -
US develop ICBM technology 9 July 1959
After first testing a domestic built nuclear weapon in 1964, it went on to develop various warheads and missiles -
U-2 Incident 1 May 1960
USAF spy aircraft shot down over USSR -
Near misses
Radar equipment in Thule, Greenland mistakenly interpreted a moon rise 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. -
First human spaceflight 12 April 1961
12 April was declared as the International Day of Human Space Flight in dedication of the first manned space flight made on 12 April 1961 by the 27-year-old Russian Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Gagarin circled the Earth for 1 hour and 48 minutes aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft -
Soviets detonate Tsar Bomba October 1961
An unnecessarily large bomb meant for intimidation -
Near misses
Staff at the Strategic Air Command Headquarters (SAC HQ) simultaneously lost contact with NORAD and multiple Ballistic Missile Early Warning System sites. 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. -
McNamara proposed idea of counterforce 1962
Heavily criticized as only being preemptive. -
Cuban MIssile Crisis October 16 1962 - October 28 1962
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. One of several vessels surrounded by American destroyers near Cuba, B-59 dove to avoid detection and was unable to communicate with Moscow for a number of days.[8] USS Beale 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 7 October 1963
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 1968
Added great accuracy to missiles -
USSR develop defensive ABM systems 1968
The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty or ABMT) (1972—2002) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against ballistic missile-delivered nuclear weapons -
Non-Proliferation Treaty 5 March 1970
Nations with nuclear capabilities agreed to not spread nuclear weapons and technology to nations without nuclear capabilities. -
USSR develop MIRV technology 1975
While a MIRV attacking missile can have multiple warheads (3–12 on United States and Russian missiles, or 14 in a maximum payload shorter-range configuration of the Trident II now barred by START), interceptors may have only one warhead per missile. -
Near misses
A computer error at NORAD headquarters led to alarm and full preparation for a nonexistent large-scale Soviet attack.[5] NORAD notified national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski that the Soviet Union had launched 250 ballistic missiles with a trajectory for the United States, stating that a decision to retaliate would need to be made by the president within 3 to 7 minutes. NORAD computers then placed the number of incoming missiles at 2,200. -
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 March 23 1983
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 American offensive would involve many more missiles, 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 -
Near misses
Russian President Boris Yeltsin became the first world leader to activate a nuclear briefcase after Russian radar systems detected the launch of a Norwegian Black Brant XII research rocket being used to study the Northern Lights.[26] Russian strategic ballistic missile submarines were put on alert in preparation for a possible retaliatory strike.