What would happen if Putin launched a nuclear bomb in space? | Tech News [Video]

Many woke up this morning to the news that Vladimir Putin is planning to put nuclear weapons in space, according to US intelligence.

That sounds fantastical and frightening in equal measure, but what would happen if a nuke went off in space?

Well, we actually have quite a good idea of what would happen, because the US has already done it.

It was July 8, 1962. After darkness fell, the military launched a rocket carrying a fusion bomb from the tiny Johnston Atoll in the middle of the Pacific. Elsewhere around the region people gathered to watch, expecting to see a small burst of light, maybe something like a shooting star. 

Instead, the entire sky lit up, bringing daylight to the middle of the night. 

A giant ball of plasma erupted above them, particles of radiation raining down on the atmosphere.

‘It looked as though the heavens had belched forth a new sun that flared briefly, but long enough to set …