Kosmos 954

Kosmos 954
	Sketch of Kosmos 954
Mission type	Reconnaissance
COSPAR ID	1977-090A
SATCAT no.	10361
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	3,800 kg (8,400 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	13:55:00, 18 September 1977 (UTC)
Rocket	Tsyklon-2
Launch site	Tyuratam
End of mission
Decay date	24 January 1978
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Eccentricity	0.00135
Perigee altitude	259 km (161 mi)
Apogee altitude	277 km (172 mi)
Inclination	65°
Period	89.6 min
Epoch	18 September 1977

Kosmos 954 (Russian: Космос 954) was a reconnaissance satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1977. A malfunction prevented safe separation of its onboard nuclear reactor; when the satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere the following year, it scattered radioactive debris over northern Canada, some of the debris landing in the Great Slave Lake next to Fort Resolution, NWT.^[1]^[2]^[3]

This prompted an extensive multiyear cleanup operation known as Operation Morning Light. The Canadian government billed the Soviet Union for over 6 million Canadian dollars under the terms of the Outer Space Treaty, which obligates states for damages caused by their space objects. The USSR eventually paid 3 million Canadian dollars in compensation.^[4]

^ Cite error: The named reference jaxa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference ghr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Weintz, Steve (23 November 2015). "The Cold War near-atrocity that was nobody's fault". The National Interest. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
^ Benkö 1985, pp. 49–51.

[jaxa-1] Cite error: The named reference jaxa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ghr-2] Cite error: The named reference ghr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Weintz-3] Weintz, Steve (23 November 2015). "The Cold War near-atrocity that was nobody's fault". The National Interest. Retrieved 23 November 2015.

[FOOTNOTEBenkö198549–51-4] Benkö 1985, pp. 49–51.

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