Who Would Take the Brunt of an Attack on U.S. Nuclear Missile Silos?

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November 16, 2023

This week, we're thankful to have avoided nuclear armageddon—so far. Although, dear reader, I'd much prefer our "space and physics" coverage was merely a matter of highlighting exciting rocket launches and mind-blowing discoveries from distant realms beyond Earth or within the quantum world, it's important to remember how the frontiers of physics have also given us things less inspirational and far more destructive. Namely, the vast thermonuclear arsenals that could even now wipe out our global civilization—not to mention the hazardous supply chains that support such fearsome weaponry. As part of a special report exploring plans for a $1.5-trillion modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, our lead story details exclusive simulations that reveal hundreds of millions more Americans than previously acknowledged are at lethal risk from fallout in the event of nuclear attack upon the nation's nuclear missile silos. Were such an attack to take place the casualties from fallout would be only one of many mortal threats Americans—and practically everyone else on Earth—would suddenly face; even so, a proper appraisal of the risks associated with even one factor out of many in the monstrous equation of mutually assured destruction and a renewed nuclear arms race is of vital public and political interest. I hope you'll read our special report carefully—and then, as a cleanser, turn to our lighter fare about beautiful astronomical images and daring interplanetary missions. One more thing: As Thanksgiving Day will interfere with next week's newsletter, we'll be skipping that one, but will return to our regularly-scheduled programming the following week. We wish you a happy—and safe—holiday season.

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics @LeeBillings

Defense Who Would Take the Brunt of an Attack on U.S. Nuclear Missile Silos? These fallout maps show the toll of a potential nuclear attack on missile silos in the U.S. heartland By Sébastien Philippe

Planetary Science Can a Private Space Mission Pierce Venus's Clouds? Amid uncertainty over space agencies' plans for future Venus exploration, enthusiasm for a private-sector mission grows By Leonard David

Astronomy See JWST's Spectacular New View of the Crab Nebula The James Webb Space Telescope's studies of the Crab nebula may shed new light on the supernova remnant's origins By Phil Plait

Cosmology The Most Shocking Discovery in Astrophysics Is 25 Years Old A quarter of a century after detecting dark energy, scientists are still trying to figure out what it is By Richard Panek

Defense The New Nuclear Age The U.S. is beginning an ambitious, controversial reinvention of its nuclear arsenal. The project comes with incalculable costs and unfathomable risks

Defense What Radioactive Fallout Tells Us about Our Nuclear Future The U.S. has embarked on the largest and most expensive nuclear build-out ever. The U.S. military says it is necessary to replace an aging nuclear arsenal. But critics fear the risks. By Duy Linh Tu,Nina Berman,Sebastian Tuinder,Dominic Smith,Joseph Polidoro,Jeffery DelViscio

Defense The U.S.'s Plans to Modernize Nuclear Weapons Are Dangerous and Unnecessary The U.S. should back away from updating its obsolescent nuclear weapons, in particular silo-launched missiles that needlessly risk catastrophe By The Editors

Defense Inside the $1.5-Trillion Nuclear Weapons Program You've Never Heard Of A road trip through the communities shouldering the U.S.'s nuclear missile revival By Abe Streep

Defense Behind the Scenes at a U.S. Factory Building New Nuclear Bombs The U.S. is ramping up construction of new "plutonium pits" for nuclear weapons By Sarah Scoles

QUOTE OF THE DAY "The only real way to use nuclear weapons is never. They should exist only in numbers large enough to deter their use by others, which they already abundantly do, with not one warhead more." The editors of Scientific American

FROM THE ARCHIVE How an Article about the H-Bomb Landed Scientific American in the Middle of the Red Scare At one time this magazine tangled with the FBI, the Atomic Energy Commission and Joseph McCarthy By Alfred W. McCoy | September 2020

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