Mar 28, 2021 11:38 PM
https://thedebrief.org/old-radioactive-r...on-follow/
EXCERPTS: . . . there are dozens of ... examples of spacecraft that have fallen to Earth and pieces found for analyses. Every day, at least one tracked space object re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. The good news is that most of these are very small and burn up before they reach the surface. Some larger ones may fragment and disintegrate so that only small pieces survive. ... But not all.
For example, on May 11, 2020, China’s Long March 5B booster made an uncontrolled re-entry [...] Reports noted it flew directly over New York City before plummeting into the Atlantic Ocean. However, in 1978, the Russian spy satellite, Cosmos 954, fell onto Canada, and it carried a nuclear reactor.
While generally sparsely-inhabited, the Northwest Territories has many small villages and a few larger population centers. So, when a radioactive Russian spy satellite came down, it was a serious concern.
The Americans had advised Canada and other countries on January 19, 1978, that Cosmos 954 might fall onto their territories. It was tracked [...] By the next day, high-level air sampling was done by American U2 and KC135 aircraft.
The first detection of radiation was on January 27, 1978, on Great Slave Lake. The largest fragment, called “the antlers,” was found by civilian naturalists at Warden’s Grove; it was the largest piece recovered [...] Three days later, a large piece called “the stovepipe” was found on the frozen Great Slave Lake.
Eventually, more than three thousand separate pieces of the Russian spy satellite were found and recovered [...] The “antlers” was composed of six rods about three feet long attached to a plate, the whole thing weighing about 40 lbs. It was part of a reactor control assembly, the rods being for regulating the reactor itself. It tested radioactive at about 15 R/hr. The “stovepipe” was about a foot and a half in length and was not radioactive.
The most radioactive pieces recovered were steel plates that tested at a very concerning 200 R/hr (or about 2 sieverts in modern units). Tiny radioactive particles as small as three-thousandths of an inch in diameter were also recovered.
The biggest concern, however, was a danger to the health of people living in the region. [...] The cleanup operation cost an estimated $14 million in 1978 dollars. A side benefit was that a great deal was learned about Soviet space technology. There was also some worry about environmental effects...
[...] The fall of the Russian spy satellite Cosmos 954 became a test case for what to do in the event of an uncontrolled satellite re-entry, especially one with a nuclear reactor on board. We were lucky. If it had fallen over a more populated area and most of its atomic components had not burned up in the atmosphere, the danger could have been much worse.
In early 1983, another nuclear Russian spy satellite, Cosmos 1402, suffered a catastrophic failure and fell to Earth, dispersing radioactive material into the atmosphere. Later, in July of 2008, the 80’s built Russian Cosmos 1818 began to leak radioactive coolant. Over thirty objects, most of which are believed to be microbeads of solid radioactive sodium-potassium metal, fell off Cosmos 1818 and are still in high-Earth orbit to this day. It is expected to enter Earth’s atmosphere in 2045.
There are more satellites of the same class and design still up there. Some will no doubt fall back to Earth at one point... (MORE -details)
EXCERPTS: . . . there are dozens of ... examples of spacecraft that have fallen to Earth and pieces found for analyses. Every day, at least one tracked space object re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. The good news is that most of these are very small and burn up before they reach the surface. Some larger ones may fragment and disintegrate so that only small pieces survive. ... But not all.
For example, on May 11, 2020, China’s Long March 5B booster made an uncontrolled re-entry [...] Reports noted it flew directly over New York City before plummeting into the Atlantic Ocean. However, in 1978, the Russian spy satellite, Cosmos 954, fell onto Canada, and it carried a nuclear reactor.
While generally sparsely-inhabited, the Northwest Territories has many small villages and a few larger population centers. So, when a radioactive Russian spy satellite came down, it was a serious concern.
The Americans had advised Canada and other countries on January 19, 1978, that Cosmos 954 might fall onto their territories. It was tracked [...] By the next day, high-level air sampling was done by American U2 and KC135 aircraft.
The first detection of radiation was on January 27, 1978, on Great Slave Lake. The largest fragment, called “the antlers,” was found by civilian naturalists at Warden’s Grove; it was the largest piece recovered [...] Three days later, a large piece called “the stovepipe” was found on the frozen Great Slave Lake.
Eventually, more than three thousand separate pieces of the Russian spy satellite were found and recovered [...] The “antlers” was composed of six rods about three feet long attached to a plate, the whole thing weighing about 40 lbs. It was part of a reactor control assembly, the rods being for regulating the reactor itself. It tested radioactive at about 15 R/hr. The “stovepipe” was about a foot and a half in length and was not radioactive.
The most radioactive pieces recovered were steel plates that tested at a very concerning 200 R/hr (or about 2 sieverts in modern units). Tiny radioactive particles as small as three-thousandths of an inch in diameter were also recovered.
The biggest concern, however, was a danger to the health of people living in the region. [...] The cleanup operation cost an estimated $14 million in 1978 dollars. A side benefit was that a great deal was learned about Soviet space technology. There was also some worry about environmental effects...
[...] The fall of the Russian spy satellite Cosmos 954 became a test case for what to do in the event of an uncontrolled satellite re-entry, especially one with a nuclear reactor on board. We were lucky. If it had fallen over a more populated area and most of its atomic components had not burned up in the atmosphere, the danger could have been much worse.
In early 1983, another nuclear Russian spy satellite, Cosmos 1402, suffered a catastrophic failure and fell to Earth, dispersing radioactive material into the atmosphere. Later, in July of 2008, the 80’s built Russian Cosmos 1818 began to leak radioactive coolant. Over thirty objects, most of which are believed to be microbeads of solid radioactive sodium-potassium metal, fell off Cosmos 1818 and are still in high-Earth orbit to this day. It is expected to enter Earth’s atmosphere in 2045.
There are more satellites of the same class and design still up there. Some will no doubt fall back to Earth at one point... (MORE -details)