A "space bomb" that fell on Canada. Why did the USSR's nuclear-reactor satellite crash?
On January 24, 1978, a bright fireball crossed the sky over the virtually uninhabited northern regions of Canada. Then a powerful explosion occurred. At first, people thought a huge meteorite had struck the Earth. When the area was inspected, radiation was detected in the metal fragments found around. It then became clear that a Soviet satellite equipped with a nuclear reactor had crashed into Canada.
A "space bomb" that fell on Canada. Why did the USSR's nuclear-reactor satellite crash?
Shortly after World War II, the leaders of the two poles in the global political arena — the USA and the USSR — entered into competition in every field, especially in armaments. Thus began the "Cold War" era. The two states launched a race to outdo each other in improving atomic bombs, various weapons, warships, aircraft, creating long-range ballistic missiles, and later flying into space.
By the 1960s, humans were sent into space one after another, and intercontinental missiles capable of flying up to 10–15 thousand kilometers were created. Both sides made a habit of showing off their achievements, especially the USSR. The Soviets liked to interpret any achievement as a "victory of socialism over the capitalist system."
In such a situation, the USA and the USSR began working on equipping artificial satellites with nuclear reactors to gain dominance in space. The goal was to observe the opponent's fleet, submarines, and aircraft carriers using such satellites. The radar equipment observing the surface and depth of the sea with high accuracy required a large amount of energy. Solar panels of that era could not meet this demand, which is why they settled on the nuclear reactor option.
Being the first to launch a satellite equipped with a nuclear reactor into space also turned into a race. In the first half of the 1960s, the USSR and the USA began working on plans to launch a device equipped with a nuclear reactor into space. The American program was named SNAP (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power). The Soviets, on the other hand, named the first artificial satellite of this type "Romashka".
Although "Romashka" passed testing well, it did not manage to make it into space. The Americans were the first to accomplish this. In 1965, the USA launched the first satellite equipped with a nuclear reactor into space. The USSR achieved this by 1970. Before that, in 1969, two satellites equipped with nuclear reactors crashed shortly after flight.
In 1973 and 1974, two more Soviet satellites with nuclear reactors exploded during flight. In total, despite about ten of the USSR's nuclear-reactor-equipped satellites suffering accidents, the project continued.
In September 1977, the USSR launched a satellite equipped with a nuclear reactor into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Although this device, named "Kosmos-954", was presented in official statements as an ordinary scientific apparatus, the USA and its allies knew that it was launched for military purposes. A small nuclear reactor running on enriched uranium was installed in the device, loaded with 30 kg of up to 90% enriched uranium.