Project Gád

Project Gád was a World Empire nuclear weapon project that lasted from 6 AU to 14 AU, and involved the construction of some of the largest nuclear devices built on Earth.

It was the first nuclear test project that was conducted entirely in space. Completed weapons were launched from the Earth into space and detonated there.

Purpose
Raedarch believed that the Averte Statum under Demanarch had discovered extraterrestrial life and had attempted to contact them. Although no concrete evidence of this was ever uncovered by Raedarch's administration, the new emperor nonetheless believed that a defence mechanism against invasion from space was necessary for the security of the empire.

The concern that an asteroid impact could threaten the World Empire was also a concern for Raedarch, and this resulted in the development of the largest weapons of Project Gád.

In addition to this, nuclear devices were becoming of increasing interest for high energy physics experiments.

Devices tested
The largest devices tested were the Gád Twins, two multi-stage fusion devices with a yield of 2 gigatonnes of TNT each. The components of the Twins were manufactured on Earth and assembled in geosynchronous orbit, avoiding any potential detection by members of the public on the ground which would have been possible in low earth orbit.

The twins design incorporated a primary fission reaction, followed by a secondary hydrogen fusion reaction and a tertiary helium fusion reaction, a principle already tested in the Balloon bomb, the first helium-fusion nuclear device.

The first of the Twins was detonated in empty space so it's yield could be accurately measured. The bright flash was visible from Earth, but it's duration was very short. The second twin was detonated on the surface of the asteroid Apophis, shattering it and creating a cloud of glowing dust that was visible for several hours.