The Smiling Buddha was the first nuclear test explosion by India on May 18, 1974 at Pokhran. It was also the first confirmed nuclear test by a nation outside the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council. Preparation for an underground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site in the 1980s. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A blonde haired, very skilled worker with a 70s look. ... Pokhran (also spelt Pokaran) is a city and a municipality in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. ... “UNSC” redirects here. ...

Preparation and design

On September 7, 1972, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave authorization to the scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to manufacture the nuclear device they had designed and prepare it for a test. Throughout its development, the device was formally called the "Peaceful Nuclear Explosive", but it was usually referred to as the Smiling Buddha. is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: ) (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was an Indian politician who served as Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 to 1984. ... The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is Indias primary nuclear research facility. ... Chagan (nuclear test) in Soviet Union 1965 was used to create a dam on Semipalatinsk river Peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs) are nuclear explosions conducted for non-military purposes, such as activities related to economic development including the creation of canals. ...

The head of the development team was Raja Ramanna. Other key members were P.K. Iyengar, Rajagopala Chidambaram, and Nagapattinam Sambasiva Venkatesan. The project employed no more than 75 scientists and engineers from 1967-1974. Keeping it small served to aid in the preservation of secrecy, according to the researcher Jeffrey Richelson.^[1] Raja Ramanna (1925 - September 23, 2004), was an Indian nuclear scientist and was associated with the countrys first nuclear test in 1974. ... Rajagopala Chidambaram is a former Director of BARC and a former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India . ...

The device used a high explosive implosion system developed at the DRDO Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh based on the American design from World War II. But the Indian design was simpler and less sophisticated than the American system. The 6 kg of plutonium came from the CIRUS reactor at BARC. The neutron initiator was a Polonium-Beryllium type (again like those used in early U.S. bombs of the Fat Man type) code-named "Flower." The complete core was assembled in Trombay before transportation to the test site. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is Indias premier research organisation for defence related matters. ... , Chandigarh   (Punjabi: , Hindi: , pronunciation: ) also called The City Beautiful , is a city in India that serves as the capital of two states: Punjab and Haryana. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight (244) g·mol−1 Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... CIRUS (Canadian-Indian-U.S.) reactor. ... General Name, Symbol, Number polonium, Po, 84 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 16, 6, p Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight (209) g·mol−1 Electron configuration [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p4 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 6 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... General Name, Symbol, Number beryllium, Be, 4 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 2, s Appearance white-gray metallic Standard atomic weight 9. ... Fat Man is the codename of the atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9, 1945. ... Trombay is a NorthEastern suburb in Mumbai, India, with Mankhurd as the closest railway station on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. ...

Indira Gandhi at Pokhran

The fully assembled device had a hexagonal cross section, 1.25 m in diameter and weighed 1400 kg. The device was detonated at 8.05 a.m. in a shaft 107 m under the army Pokhran test range in the Thar Desert (or Great Indian Desert), Rajasthan. Officially the yield was reported at 12 kt, though outside estimates of the yield vary from 2 kt to 20 kt. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (957x777, 189 KB) Indira Gandhi around Smiling Buddha in 1974 This image is of a historical political poster, button, flier or banner, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the creator of the poster or the artist... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (957x777, 189 KB) Indira Gandhi around Smiling Buddha in 1974 This image is of a historical political poster, button, flier or banner, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the creator of the poster or the artist... Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: ) (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was an Indian politician who served as Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 to 1984. ... Pokhran (also spelt Pokaran) is a city and a municipality in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. ... Pokhran (also spelt Pokaran) is a city and a municipality in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. ... A NASA satellite image of the Thar Desert, with the India-Pakistan border superimposed is found in canada, united states. ... , Rājasthān (DevanāgarÄ«: राजस्थान, IPA: )   is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. ... // The explosive yield of a nuclear weapon is the amount of energy discharged when the weapon is detonated, expressed usually in the equivalent mass of trinitrotoluene (TNT), either in kilotons (thousands of tons of TNT) or megatons (million of tons of TNT), but sometimes also in terajoules (1 kiloton of... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ...

Code name

Smiling Buddha was the code-name of the project because May 18, 1974 (the official test date) was Buddha Jayanti, a festival day in India marking the birth of Gautama Buddha. This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ...

The then-PM Indira Gandhi was not present at Pokhran so as to keep this operation confidential until the last minute. In her full cabinet, only her NSA and private secretary knew about it. The Prime Minister of India is, in practice, the most powerful person in the government of India. ... Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: ) (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was an Indian politician who served as Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 to 1984. ... Pokhran (also spelt Pokaran) is a city and a municipality in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. ...

On May 18, 1974, when the blast occurred successfully, Dr Ramanna wanted to tell this news to the Prime Minister, who was miles away in Delhi. The hotline was not working, so he went to a nearby village and called her from an ordinary landline and said "Madam, Buddha has finally smiled."

Effects

In 1975, Homi Sethna (chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission), Raja Ramanna and Nag Chaudhuri (head of the DRDO) received the Padma Vibhushan - India's second highest civilian award. Five other project members received the Padma Shri - India's fourth highest civilian award. Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Padma Shri (also spelt Padma Shree, Padmashree, Padma Sree and Padma Sri) is an award given by the Government of India generally to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Social Service and public life. ...

The CIRUS reactor used to produce the plutonium was a research reactor based on the NRX design and donated by Canada in 1960, with heavy water supplied by the US; (" CIRUS" = Canada-India Reactor U.S.). The Smiling Buddha test caused a public outcry in Canada, and the Canadian government cut off exchange of nuclear materials and technology with India in the wake of the test. CIRUS (Canadian-Indian-U.S.) reactor. ... NRX was a heavy water moderated, light water cooled, nuclear research reactor at the Canadian Chalk River Laboratories, which experienced one of the worlds first major reactor accidents 12 December 1952. ... CIRUS (Canadian-Indian-U.S.) reactor. ...

India did not carry out any further nuclear tests until the successful Operation Shakti in 1998. Operation Shakti refers to the second round of nuclear tests conducted by India on May 11 and May 13, 1998. ...

A further effect of India's nuclear test was the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group also known as the London Club. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials. ...

The Smiling Buddha Deity

Smiling Buddha refers to Maitreya or Hotei. A Buddhist Deity popular like a Good Luck Giver. Maitreya Bodhisattva (Sanskrit) or Metteyya Bodhisatta (Pāli) is the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. ... Statue of Hotei in the familiar likeness of the Chinese tradition. ...

Notes

1. ^ Richelson, Jefferey T. (March 1999). Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea. WW Norton, 233. ISBN 978-0393053838. 

Jeffrey Talbot Richelson (1949 - ) is an American author and academic researcher who studies the process of intelligence gathering and national security. ...

External links

• India's Nuclear Weapons Program Smiling Buddha: 1974