This series, we are doing a deep dive on Cosmos 954, the Soviet spy satellite carrying a nuclear reactor that deorbited and crashed into Canada's Northwest Territories. In Part 1, we focus on the satellite itself, how it failed, and how a little-known American government agency stepped up to tackle a nuclear disaster. Topics covered include:
- Why the Soviets loaded a spy satellite with weapons-grade uranium
- The horrible "failsafes" they designed into their satellites
- How a nuclear prank in Boston scared the US into taking accidents seriously
- How all of this is (tangentially) Korolev and Khrushchev's fault
