A chronology of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site:
Jan. 27, 1951: First test at the site, a 1-kiloton bomb dropped from a B-50 over Frenchman Flat.
Fall 1951: Camp Desert Rock is opened at NTS to house military personnel who observe and participate in atmospheric tests.
March 17, 1953: Annie, a 16-kiloton test, is conducted to determine survivability of homes and other structures built near ground zero at a site dubbed "Survival City" and "Doom Town." Films showing the homes erupting in flames and being blown away are shown worldwide. A similar test, Apple II, is conducted May 5, 1955.
Aug. 10, 1957: First tunnel test.
July 19, 1957: An Air Force F-89 fires the first air-to-air nuclear missile.
Oct. 31, 1958: Test moratorium begins.
Sept. 1, 1961: Soviets resume testing with a series of 50 tests, including a 58-megaton shot (58 million tons of TNT) on Oct. 31, 1961, nearly four times the largest U.S. test.
Sept. 15, 1961: U.S. resumes testing.
March 1, 1962: First joint U.S.-British test at NTS.
July 6, 1962: First Plowshare test at NTS to determine feasibility of using nuclear blasts for peaceful purposes such as excavations, canals, etc. Program scrubbed because of environmental concerns.
Dec. 8, 1962: President John Kennedy visits the Nuclear Rocket Development Station at NTS to look at progress on Project Rover, a nuclear rocket that scientists hoped could lead to manned flights to Mars. Project scrubbed in 1972 after U.S. drops plans for such flights.
Aug. 5, 1963: U.S. and Soviet Union sign treaty limiting testing to underground.
March 31, 1968: U.S. and Soviet Union sign agreement limiting tests to 150 kilotons.
November 1970: Apollo 14 and Apollo 16 astronauts train for their lunar missions on NTS craters. Apollo 17 astronauts follow in August 1972.
Aug. 17, 1988: Kearsarge, first U.S. test witnessed by Soviets.
Sept. 23, 1992: Divider, last U.S. test at NTS.
Oct. 2, 1992: Current U.S. moratorium begins.