Until then, nuclear energy meant only one thingweapons.
One such project was fracking.
Photo taken at ground zero shortly after the detonation on September 10, 1969, Project Rulison.
Scientists lowers a 13-foot by 18-inch diameter nuclear equipment codenamed Gasbuggy into a New Mexico gas well.
Unfortunately, the cavern didnt survive as predicted.
Under the tremendous pressure from the surrounding rocks, the cavern collapsed after only a few seconds.
Project Gasbuggy was merely a proof-of-concept.
There were no attempt to extract the natural gas released.
Project Rulison took place in the rural community of Rulison, Colorado.
The detonation produced extremely high temperatures that vaporized a volume of rock, creating a somewhat spherical cavity.
The fractured rock above the roof of the cavity collapsed shortly after the detonation, forming a rubble-filled chimney.
An exploration well drilled into this cavity found a high concentration of natural gas, as predicted.
The oil well was abandoned as a result.
But that didnt stop them.
With protesters still hollering merely 2 miles from the blast zone, the AEC went ahead with the blast.
We were lifted six to eight inches in the air when the shockwave hit us, remembers Chester McQueary.
Project Rio Blanco took place on May 17, 1973 in Rio Blanco County, Colorado.
By 1974, approximately $82 million had been invested in the nuclear gas stimulation technology program.
The contaminated gas was never channeled into commercial supply lines.
Project Rio Blanco would proved to be the final Plowshare experiment.
Under mounting public opposition, Project Plowshare was discontinued in 1975.
All three sites are now marked with stone markers.
Project Rulison Test Site.
Photo:Bronco925/Wikimedia
Project Rio Blanco test site.
Photo:Bronco925/Wikimedia
Project Gasbuggy placard.
