Operation Morning Light
Kosmos 954 () was a reconnaissance satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1977. A malfunction prevented safe separation of its onboard Nuclear reactor technology, nuclear reactor; when the satellite Atmospheric reentry, 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, Northwest Territories. 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. Launch and operation The satellite was part of the Soviet Union's RORSAT programme, a series of reconnaissance satellites which observed ocean traffic, including surface vessels and nuclear submarines, using act ...
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