
Project Iceworm - cpeterso
http://www.bldgblog.com/2011/01/project-iceworm/
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dredmorbius
The blog post is somewhat misleading and /or misinformed. The "scientific
mission" was always cover. The operation was too large to hide completely, so
a semi-plausible (though on any reflection, pretty patently absurd) cover
story, "For Science!" was constructed, complete with propaganda films
featuring against-regulation-puppy-dogs....

I'd run across a reference to this in an old documentary video on "Camp
Century" now online. Watching it I got the distinct impression that the story
was not as it was described -- the mission involved 3,000 m of tunnels,
included a shop, theater, and church, some 200 men, and a nuclear reactor for
power generation. That's a lot of men and materiel just for a science mission.

As noted, turns out it was cover for a larger scheme: 4,000 kilometers of
tunnels in which 600 nuclear-warhead tipped missiles were to be deployed.

But the ice cap proved too unstable and the project was cancelled after six
years (the reactor removed before that).

The true irony is this: one of the more enduring results of the mission was
scientific, as it produced numerous ice cores and established that the
Greenland ice cap was far more dynamic than originally thought. Fake science
ends up producing ... real science.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm)
[http://defensetech.org/2012/04/06/inside-the-armys-secret-
co...](http://defensetech.org/2012/04/06/inside-the-armys-secret-cold-war-ice-
base/) Greatest Mysteries of the Cold War: Nuclear Powered Subterranean Secret
Base in Greenland (720p)
[http://fixyt.com/watch?v=NkvRwoVdzk8](http://fixyt.com/watch?v=NkvRwoVdzk8)

~~~
michaelbuckbee
Reminds me of the Glomar Explorer and the cover story of 'manganese nodule
mining'

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSF_Explorer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSF_Explorer)

I wonder which of today's scientific projects will turn out fake.

~~~
dredmorbius
I actually mentioned that in the comment of mine I'd borrowed from here.

Fun fact: I knew one of he scientists on the cover mission for the Glomar
Explorer.

He was on the ship for the duration of the mission. And didn't even realise
the true purpose until he read about it in the news.

Something to keep in mind if you're getting assurances from people working at
or for a project or organisation that there's nothing twisted going on --
first, it needn't be a laargee operation that is, _and even a full second crew
and submarine-sized sea bay can be hidden, on a ship_.

Makes you think.

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meatsock
here is a better version of the video referenced in this blog post:
[https://youtu.be/x0c9ykqe2Xs](https://youtu.be/x0c9ykqe2Xs)

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dclowd9901
One of those great "reality is stranger than fiction" stories. Are we only
learning about this because it's become recently declassified? How've I not
heard of this before?

~~~
martey
> _Are we only learning about this because it 's become recently
> declassified?_

The only classified part of this story is the relatively uninteresting part -
that this was to be a nuclear missile base. From
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Iceworm)
:

> _While Project Iceworm was secret, plans for Camp Century were discussed
> with and approved by Denmark, and the facility, including its nuclear power
> plant, was profiled in The Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1960._

~~~
jacquesm
That's a matter of perspective, apparently, to me that is the most interesting
part. The fact that it took decades before it was declassified and only then
caused an inquiry by the Danish parliament indicates that some other people
thought it was interesting as well, at least interesting enough to attempt to
keep it buried forever.

~~~
dclowd9901
I think, perhaps, he meant "uninteresting" in the sense that the obvious
assumption was that it would be a nuclear missile base, while the hope was
that it was something much cooler.

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christkv
It feels like a trailer for a reboot of "The Thing".

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cbanek
I suddenly feel the urge to watch Empire Strikes Back.

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josh-wrale
Fallout: On Ice

~~~
Tar90
Cold war indeed.

