596 | |
---|---|
Information | |
Country | China |
Test site | Lop Nur Test Base |
Period | October 16, 1964 |
Number of tests | 1 |
Test type | Atmospheric |
Device type | Fission |
Max. yield | 22 kilotons of TNT (92 TJ) |
Navigation | |
Previous test | None |
Next test | Test No. 6 |
Coordinates: 40°48′45″N 89°47′24″E / 40.81250°N 89.79000°E
596, originally named by the US intelligence agencies Chic-1, is the codename of the People's Republic of China's first nuclear weapons test, detonated on October 16, 1964, at the Lop Nur test site. It was a uranium-235 implosion fission device and had a yield of 22 kilotons. With the test, China became the fifth nuclear power.
In response, the Taiwanese leadership, including President Chiang Kai-shek, called for a military response against Chinese nuclear facilities and the formation of an Asian anti-communist defense organisation.
Project 596 was named after the month of June 1959 in which it was initiated, immediately after Nikita Khrushchev decided to stop helping the Chinese with their nuclear program on 20 June 1959.