Edward Teller was one of the driving minds behind the development of the hydrogen bomb and architect of the Marshall Island tests . The mass media painted the fisherman 's death as an anti-nuclear call to arms , and Teller notoriously commented : " It 's unreasonable to make such a big deal over the death of a fisherman . " The 17-shot Redwing series followed — 11 tests at Enewetak Atoll and six at Bikini . The island residents had been promised that they would be able to return home to Bikini , but the government thwarted that indefinitely by deciding to resume nuclear testing at Bikini in 1954 . During 1954 , 1956 , and 1958 , 21 more nuclear bombs were detonated at Bikini , yielding a total of , equivalent to more than three thousand '' Baker '' bombs . The 3.8 Mt Redwing '' Cherokee '' test was the only air burst . Air bursts distribute fallout in a large area , but surface bursts produce intense local fallout . These tests were followed by the 33-shot Hardtack tests which began in late April 1958 . The last of ten tests were detonated on Bikini Atoll on July 22 , 1958
Hardtack
Operation Hardtack I
Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll