On January 24, 1978, the Kosmos-954 satellite, belonging to the USSR and having a nuclear power plant on board, collapsed in the Earth's atmosphere. Fragments of it fell over northern Canada. The incident caused a serious international scandal, but this case was not the first and far from the last in world practice. A number of similar "tricks" were thrown out by the USA. In addition to accidents with "nuclear satellites", both superpowers in the 20th century also managed to conduct a series of nuclear tests in space.
Nuclear explosions in space
Some of the most significant and numerous actions that endangered not only environmental safety on the planet, but also the safety of space programs are inextricably linked with attempts to develop anti-satellite weapons. The Americans were the first to take this path. On August 27, 1958, for the first time in the history of the United States, a cosmic nuclear explosion was made. At an altitude of 161 km, a nuclear charge with a capacity of 1.7 kt was detonated. The charge was delivered to this altitude using an X-17A rocket launched from the American warship AVM-1 Norton Sound.
Even then, it became obvious that such a small nuclear charge was not able to pose a significant threat to satellites. To defeat required guidance accuracy, which the United States simply did not have at that time. Therefore, the obvious solution was to increase the power of the used warheads and launch missiles higher and higher. The record in this series of tests, codenamed Argus, was the explosion, which was made at an altitude of about 750 km. The result achieved in this case is the formation of narrow artificial radiation belts around our planet.
Explosions in space could continue further, but they were temporarily suspended by a moratorium on nuclear tests. True, its effect did not last long. Here the USSR was the first to "speak out". In order to study the effect of nuclear explosions in space on the operation of the electronic equipment of the missile defense system, a series of nuclear tests was carried out. So on October 27, 1961, two launches of R-12 ballistic missiles carrying charges with a capacity of 1, 2 kt were carried out from the Kapustin Yar test site. These missiles exploded over the Sary-Shagan training ground at altitudes of 150 and 300 km, respectively.
The response of the US military in the form of the implementation of the Starfish Prime project can literally be attributed to the actions of an "elephant in a china shop." On July 9, 1962, at an altitude of about 400 km, the most powerful explosion in space was carried out, the power of the used thermonuclear warhead of the Tor rocket was 1.4 Mt. The rocket was launched from Johnson Atoll.
The almost complete absence of air at such a height of the detonation of the charge prevented the appearance of the nuclear mushroom habitual in such explosions. However, in this case, no less interesting effects were observed. So, in Hawaii, at a distance of up to 1500 km from the epicenter of the explosion, under the influence of a powerful electromagnetic pulse, the work of street lighting was disrupted (about 300 street lights were out of order, but not all), in addition, radio receivers, televisions and other electronics were out of order. At the same time, the strongest glow could be observed in the sky in the test region for more than 7 minutes. The glow was so strong that it was possible to film it even from the island of Samoa, which was located at a distance of 3200 km from the epicenter of the explosion. The glow from the outbreak could also be observed from the territory of New Zealand at a distance of 7000 km from the epicenter of the explosion.
The glow seen from Honolulu in Starfish Prime trials
The powerful explosion also affected the operation of spacecraft in near-earth orbit. So, 3 satellites were immediately disabled by the resulting electromagnetic pulse. The charged particles, which were formed as a result of the explosion, were captured by the magnetosphere of our planet, as a result of which their concentration in the radiation belt of the planet increased by about 2-3 orders of magnitude. The impact of the resulting radiation belt caused a very rapid degradation of electronics and solar batteries in another 7 satellites, including Telestar-1, the first commercial telecommunications satellite. In total, as a result of this explosion, a third of all spacecraft that were in low Earth orbits at the time of the explosion were disabled.
The radiation belt formed as a result of the implementation of the Starfish Prime project caused the countries to adjust the parameters of manned launches within the framework of the Voskhod and Mercury programs over the course of two years. If we talk about achieving the main goal of the experiment, then this goal was more than fulfilled. A third of the satellites available at that time, located in low-earth orbit, both American and Soviet, were put out of action. The result was the recognition that such an indiscriminate means of defeat could cause significant damage to the states themselves.
The explosion provoked a very loud political scandal, drowned out by the Cuban missile crisis. At the same time, as a result, a moratorium on nuclear explosions in space was introduced in the world. In total, in the period 1950-60, 9 such nuclear tests were carried out in the United States, and 5 tests in the Soviet Union.
View of the glow from the aircraft KC-135
Reactor from the sky
Not only nuclear tests in outer space, but also accidents that posed a threat not only to the environment, but also to citizens of any country who could be in the wrong place at the wrong time, led to rather serious international scandals. Since the early 1970s, the USSR has been developing and deploying a maritime space reconnaissance and target designation system called the Legend. This system included two groups of satellites - active and passive scouts. For the normal functioning of active scouts, a constant power supply of high power was required.
In this regard, it was decided to install onboard nuclear power reactors on satellites. At the same time, the resource of one such satellite was estimated at 1080 hours, which was determined by a fairly frequent correction of the satellite's position in orbit and the development of fuel reserves. At the same time, the onboard reactor continued its work. In order not to drop such "gifts" on Earth, the satellites were launched into the so-called "burial orbit" at an altitude of about 1000 km. According to calculations, the satellites should be in this orbit for about 250 years.
At the same time, the operation of such satellites was often accompanied by contingencies. So, in January 1978, the Kosmos-954 reconnaissance satellite, equipped with an onboard reactor, was completely out of order, becoming uncontrollable. Attempts to regain control over it and put it into the "burial orbit" have led nowhere. The process of uncontrolled descent of the spacecraft began. The satellite became known to the Joint Air Defense Command of the North American continent NORAD. Over time, information about the threat posed by the "Russian killer satellite" leaked to the Western press. All with horror began to wonder where exactly this "gift" would fall to the ground.
On January 24, 1978, a Soviet reconnaissance satellite collapsed over Canadian territory, and its radioactive debris fell over the province of Alberta, which was sparsely populated. In total, the Canadians discovered about 100 fragments with a total mass of 65 kg in the form of disks, rods, tubes and smaller parts, the radioactivity of some was 200 roentgens / hour. By a lucky coincidence, none of the local residents were hurt, since there were practically none of them in this region. Despite the insignificant radioactive contamination found on Earth, the USSR was forced to pay monetary compensation to Canada.
satellite "Cosmos-954"
At the same time, as soon as it became clear that a Soviet reconnaissance satellite would fall on the territory of North America, the CIA headquarters began an active study of an operation codenamed "Morning Light". The American side was interested in any data that related to the secret Soviet satellite - design solutions, materials used, data transmission and processing systems, etc.
They led the operation in Langley, but representatives of the American naval intelligence, divisions of the Canadian Department of Defense, and employees of the US Department of Energy also took an active part in it. Fortunately, the Canadian and American cities were not threatened by a radiation catastrophe, for this reason the special services of the two countries worked in a fairly calm atmosphere. They stayed in the Canadian tundra until October 1978, after which, having collected everything that they could find on the spot, they returned back.
After the Canadian territory was "cleared" of radioactive debris, Pierre Trudeau, who is the country's prime minister, billed the Soviet side for work on decontamination of the area - $ 15 million. The bill was to be paid by the Soviet Navy, which owned the satellite that fell in Canada. However, the financial wrangling between the two countries dragged on for a long time and ended with the fact that the Soviet Union nevertheless partially paid the invoice. It is still not known exactly what amount was transferred to the Canadians; the numbers range from $ 3 to $ 7.5 million.
In any case, neither the Canadians nor the Americans were left behind. All the fragments of the secret military satellite collected on the ground fell into their hands. Although the main value was only the remains of semiconductor batteries and a beryllium reflector. In all likelihood, this was the most expensive radioactive waste in human history. As a result of the international scandal that erupted after the fall of the satellite, the USSR suspended the launches of such devices for three years, working to improve their safety.
Accidents involving nuclear powered satellites on board
On April 21, 1964, an attempt to launch the US-owned Transit-5V navigation satellite ended in failure. The satellite was equipped with a SNAP-9A nuclear power plant. This installation contained 950 grams of radioactive plutonium-238, which was dispersed in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of the accident. This accident caused an increase in the level of natural background radiation throughout our planet.
On May 18, 1968, an American Tor-Agena-D launch vehicle crashed in the orbital launch site. This rocket was supposed to launch a new meteorological satellite Nimbus-B, equipped with a SNAP-19B2 nuclear power plant, into Earth's orbit. It was fortunate that the design of the device showed the proper strength. The satellite withstood all the vicissitudes of the flight and did not collapse. Later, he was caught by the US Navy, there was no radioactive contamination of the world's oceans.
On April 25, 1973, the launch of another reconnaissance satellite, equipped with a nuclear power plant and belonging to the USSR, ended in failure. Due to the failure of the additional acceleration engine, the satellite was not launched into the calculated launch orbit, and the nuclear installation of the device fell into the Pacific Ocean.
On December 12, 1975, almost immediately after entering the earth's orbit, the orientation system of another Soviet reconnaissance satellite, Kosmos-785, equipped with a nuclear power plant, went out of order. Chaotic movements of the satellite began in orbit, which could cause its subsequent fall to Earth. Realizing this, the reactor core was urgently separated from the satellite and transferred to the "disposal" orbit, where it is currently located.
On January 24, 1978, in the northwestern regions of Canada, the wreckage of the Soviet reconnaissance satellite Kosmos-954, equipped with a nuclear power plant, fell. When the satellite passed the dense layers of the earth's atmosphere, it collapsed, as a result of which only its fragments reached the earth's surface. At the same time, insignificant radioactive contamination of the surface was recorded, which, as mentioned above, led to a serious international scandal.
On April 28, 1981, another Soviet reconnaissance satellite, Kosmos-1266, which possesses a nuclear power plant, experienced a malfunction of the onboard equipment. In an emergency, the reactor compartment was separated from the satellite, which was "thrown" into the "burial" orbit.
On February 7, 1983, another Soviet reconnaissance satellite Kosmos-1266, also equipped with a nuclear power plant, crashed in the desert regions of the South Atlantic. The modifications made to its design, which were based on previous accidents, made it possible to separate the core from the heat-resistant reactor vessel and prevent a compact fall of the satellite debris onto the Earth. However, as a result of this accident, an insignificant increase in the natural background radiation was recorded.
In April 1988, another reconnaissance satellite of the USSR "Kosmos-1900", which possesses a nuclear power plant, got out of control. The spacecraft slowly lost altitude, approaching the earth's surface. The US space control services were connected to control the position of this Soviet satellite. Only on September 30, 1988, a few days before the satellite could enter the dense layers of the Earth's atmosphere, its protective system was activated, and the device was launched into a safe stationary orbit.
