downey.kaiserpapers.info

DIRECTORY OF EXPLOSIONS ON THE PROPERTY

5 October 1967 - Despite a fatal explosion on 5 October 1967, at the Downey, California, plant of North American Rockwell, which was caused by a mishandling of finely divided barium mixed with Freon, the barium cloud experiment eventually proved a great success.⁴⁴ On 17 March 1969, a barium cloud 1865 miles long, lasting some 20 minutes, and visible to the naked eye, formed at an altitude of 43,495.9 miles (69,999.87 kilometers). Heos I a "Highly Eccentric Orbiting Satellite" belonging to ESRO, carried the cloud-producing canister into space. Instrumented observation of this and subsequent plasma cloud-in-space experiments revealed the motions of the earth's magnetic field lines, including those influencing the aurorae; demonstrated other plasma effects in space; helped scientists to correlate these motions and effects as a function of solar flares; and generally allowed world astrophysicists to model the geomagnetosphere more accurately. All the barium cloud shots generated considerable public concern and interest and were widely announced in advance in the press.
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4308/ch5.htm

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"All right, the capsule drops. It lands in the water. My God, it's sinking. It has gone in and split wide open. All the mannequins are drowning. The whole spacecraft is in ruins." At that moment, it was clear to everyone that a minor catastrophe was at hand; at that moment, also, Mattson's telephone hookup was cut off.^{18
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4308/ch11.htm}

East of Building 6 and North of Building 288 Explosive Bunkers dealt with Ordnance and all Separations

Pyrotechnic testing bunkers - 126 and 127.
     Building 1 - Command Module - tested with Helium Leak Testing.

1966 - Blew top of building 260; used for service module testing pressure test; canvas top with wood.

Building 123 - Ordinance Testing - Pyrotechnics

Late 1950's North of Bomb Shelter - Spilled volatile on counter top sparked vapors blew lid off  -  chemical lab.

1957 - Listed under - Lab and Tests - Bomb Shelter east building 006

Buildings 694 and 695 - Explosives Testing Area

In late 1970's stopped accepting further ordnances for storing in the USAF Bunker Houses.  Small test charges spent or unspent  were sent to Fort McArthur instead.  The did accept black powders, charges and loads of chemicals.  

Back and to side of Cafeteria - Explosives Test Area
http://downey.kaiserpapers.info/interviewsfosterwheeler1.html

April 1-8

North American reviewed nondestructive techniques for testing honeycomb structures. The principal method involved ultrasonic testing, but this approach was highly dependent upon equipment and procedure. At best, ultrasonic testing could do no more than indicate faulty bond areas, and these could be confirmed only through destructive tests. A number of promising nondestructive methods were being investigated, but thus far none was satisfactory. The danger in this situation was that, if design allowables had to be lowered to meet the results of strength distribution tests, the weight advantage of honeycomb construction might be lost.

"ASPO Weekly Management Report, April 1-8, 1965"; memorandum, D. D. Few, RASPO-Downey, to R. H. Ridnour, "Recent Bonding Problems at NAA," May 12, 1965, with enclosures.
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4009/v3g.htm

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