The Soviet Star That Almost Caused a Global Radioactive Catastrophe

In 1978, a Soviet nuclear-powered spy satellite crashed into the Canadian wilderness — and nearly poisoned an entire region.
Cosmos 954 didn’t burn up in the atmosphere. Its onboard nuclear reactor slammed into northern Canada, scattering hundreds of radioactive pieces across 120,000 square kilometers. Operation Morning Light was launched to find and recover the deadly debris before it could cause a disaster.
Why was it nuclear? Why did it fall? And how did the world avoid a major catastrophe?
This is the shocking true story of Cosmos 954 — the nuclear satellite that rewrote the rules of space.