A photo of the first test of the atomic bomb on July 16, 1945 is displayed along the fence at Ground Zero at the Trinity Site, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico July 5, 2005. The crater that the explosion created has long been filled in, leaving only a modest stone obelisk, a few historical photographs and explanatory panels that mark the atomic stain that connects us to the world.
Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army said its upcoming Trinity Site open house is expected to receive a “larger than normal crowd” due to the overwhelming popularity of Universal’s “Oppenheimer.”
The Trinity Site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico is where the world’s first atomic bomb was tested.
The film “Oppenheimer”, which premiered on Friday and earned $82.4 million weekend tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who oversaw the Manhattan Project, which produced the bomb and ushered the world into the atomic age.
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“Due to the release of the Oppenheimer film in July, we expect a larger than usual crowd at the open house on October 21st,” the US military wrote at its White Sands Missile Range. Website.
“If you are not one of the first 5,000 visitors, you may not get through the gate before it closes at 2pm,” the statement said, adding that waiting times were expected to be up to two hours.
Twice a year, the U.S. military allows visitors to tour the site where “Gadget,” a six-foot sphere with a powerful plutonium heart the size of a grapefruit, was detonated. After the open house in October, the US military will allow visitors again on April 6, 2024.
Born out of the Manhattan Project, the bomb was launched under the code name “Trinity” – chosen by Oppenheimer, who was inspired by British poet John Donne.
At exactly 5:29:45 a.m. on July 16, 1945, the most powerful weapon ever created—at the time—was detonated. Less than a month later, the US military dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 100,000 people and ending World War II.
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