From: utzoo!hcr!pierre
Newsgroups: net.misc
Title: Nuclear satellites and U.S.
Article-I.D.: hcr.309
Posted: Fri Jan 28 18:41:27 1983
Received: Fri Jan 28 19:50:46 1983

During the past couple of weeks, we heard a lot about the Soviet
satellite that was going to fall on our heads.  Does anyone
remember that the U.S. have some experience with falling
nuclear-powered satellites ? A suggested reading is "Science",
the magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, January 7, 1983.  It reports one case, among others, in
1964, when a plutonium-powered Transit navigational satellite
fell back into the ocean. After that period, the level of plu-
tonium in the atmosphere increased threefold.