Years later, in a CNN interview, an 85-year-old Reiffel revealed some shocking details of the mission that had never come to light. According to Reiffel, “The motivation for such a detonation [was] clearly threefold: scientific, military and political,” and wasn’t merely intended to boost American morale.
Rather, Project A119 had sought to provide information "concerning the capability of nuclear weapons for space warfare." At the time, says Reiffel, "there was discussion of the moon as military high ground," and the United States was interested in getting there first. Military plans included setting up nuclear launch sites on the Moon so that, in the event that the Soviets attacked the United States’ homefront, “we could launch warheads from the Moon.” Reiffel elaborates on the project’s main motivation:
