January 24, 1978 - The Soviet Satellite “Kosmos 954” Crashes in Canada

Intended to monitor ocean traffic, orbiting the earth every 89.5 minutes, “Kosmos 954” was launched on September 18, 1977. However, by December of the same year, the Satellite had been reported to be moving erratically, and had diverted from its’ original course. In secret meetings, Soviet officials warned the U.S. that they had lost control over their spacecraft, a vital fact given that the satellite had a nuclear core containing 110 pounds of Uranium-235. On January 24, the satellite crashed into Canada, leaving a 370-mile path of debris. Despite thorough searches, only 1% of the satellite’s fuel was recovered. This piece, incidentally, happened to be strong enough to kill a person exposed to it for just a few hours.

(Estimated map of the crash)