A routine scientific rocket launch from Norway in January 1995 triggered one of the most serious nuclear alerts of the post Cold War era, as reported by the BBC. For several tense minutes, Russian military systems identified the object as a possible incoming missile. The alert reached the highest level of command. Russian President Boris Yeltsin activated his nuclear briefcase, the first time any world leader is known to have done so in response to a perceived attack. The rocket was not military. It was launched to study the Northern Lights. But confusion inside Russia’s early warning network briefly created the conditions for nuclear retaliation. The episode exposed gaps in communication and lingering mistrust only a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
