NEVER SAY NEVADA TEST SITE (NTS), 65 MILES NORTH OF LAS VEGAS, WAS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT NUCLEAR WEAPONS TEST SITES IN THE UNITED STATES. NUCLEAR TESTING, BOTH ATMOSPHERIC AND UNDERGROUND, OCCURRED HERE BETWEEN 1951 AND 1992. AFTER WORLD WAR II, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC) TO MONITOR THE PEACETIME DEVELOPMENT OF ATOMIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. THE 1950S BECAME A PERIOD OF RAPID EXPANSION FOR U.S ATOMIC WEAPONS. FEAR OF THE SOVIET UNION INCREASING THEIR ATOMIC WEAPONS, AND THE BELIEF THAT BUILDING UP NUCLEAR ARMS COULD HELP ESTABLISH U.S. POWER, CONTRIBUTED TO THIS RAPID EXPANSION.
