The Nuclear Satellite That Fell on Canada
Before dawn one winter's day in 1978, a Soviet satellite carrying a nuclear reactor broke up over northern Canada, scattering radioactive debris across the snow.
What was reported
Kosmos 954 was a Soviet satellite that watched ships from orbit, powered by a small nuclear reactor. In late 1977 it began to fall out of control, and on 24 January 1978 it came down over the Northwest Territories, where people saw a bright light streak across the dark sky.
Canada and the United States launched Operation Morning Light to find the pieces. Over months, teams searched about 124,000 square kilometres, along a path from Great Slave Lake to Baker Lake, and recovered radioactive fragments from the ice and snow.
Explanations offered
The reactor was meant to be boosted to a higher orbit at the end of its life, but the system failed. Most of the debris was recovered, and no one is known to have been hurt. Canada billed the Soviet Union for the clean-up, and later settled for about half.
- When
- 24 January 1978
- Where
- Near Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada
- Witnesses
- People in the Northwest Territories, and a search team
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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