REACTION TO THE COSMOS 954 ACCIDENT

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06167873
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: September 30, 2020
• Case Number: F-2019-01181
• Publication Date: February 7, 1978

� Approved for Release: 2020/09/28 C06167873
SECRC
7 February 1978
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Reaction to the Cosmos 954 Accident
7
The Nato allies, other than Canada and West Germany, have said
little about the Cosmos 954 accident and its implications. Canadian
officials spoke highly of US actions and objected to Soviet behavior.
West Germany was critical of both the US and the USSR. Of the other
countries informed by the US, Japan protested the incident to the
Soviets 'and wants the UN to examine ways to prevent such accidents;
Australia and New Zealand have made no comments.
Spain and South Korea--neither informed--are questioning the
advantages of their ties with the US. Sweden, on the other hand, was
not critical of the US, but delivered a strong protest to the USSR.
Eastern Europe generally followed the Soviet line, although Poland
emphasized that the incident demonstrated US-Soviet cooperation and
detente.
Countries Informed by the US
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau has been extremely laudatory of
US aid to Canada. He said "the Americans were very forthcoming.. .went
beyond their obligation as partners in NORAD. They did it as friends;
they did it as neighbors : and WP arP VPrV very nratpful for it "
Defense Minister Denson'
\reported in the House of Commons that "I am perfectly satisfied
that the prime minister, myself and our staffs were kept fully informed
at each stage of the operation.. .Cooperation has been complete with the
Americans."
The Canadians have complained that the Soviets should have informed
Canada of a potential re-entry problem in advance. Canada is now assess-
ing the USSR's legal obligations under the four existing international
space conventions, and the defense minister stated that Canada will press
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a claim on the Soviet Union for the cost of the search and the re-
covery of the satellite. The USSR will be notified of the recovery
only when official identification of the pieces is completed. Soviet
offers to send technical personnel were not accepted.
The general media reaction toward the US was favorable although
there was some criticism that the US did not notify Canada early
enough. The press highlighted, in particular, cooperation between
the US and Canada in their airborne radioactivity monitoring effort.
Newscasts were generally critical of the USSR for failing to inform
Canada.
The West
minimizing the
satellite, and
to be examined
ment spokesmen
by both the US
German government tried to ally public concern by
risk, asserting it had adequate information about the
suggesting the consequences of the accident will have
in "competent international forums." Initially, govern-
said that West Germany was informed about the problem
and the USSR.
The German press was quite critical of the Soviet Union.
On January 31, the influential Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitunq.
published an extensive commentary--probably officially inspired--
which called the US information policy on the incident "strange."
It accused Dr. Brzezinski of playing down the undesirable conse-
quences of the satellite's disintegration and said the US was treat-
ing the "other big power" with special care. This commentary implied
the US should tell the allies more about the search for the debris
than simply what aid it was giving to Canada. The article concluded
that international agreement is required to "rule out absolutely
that satellites may carry radioactive material, either as a weapon
or as an energy generator."
The conservative Die Welt insisted that the interests of the
"satellite have nets" must be taken more into consideration. Both
newspapers said that Bonn had informed neighboring states of the
peril, with the Frankfurt newspaper naming Switzerland, Austria,
and Spain.
The UK and France made no official comments and their media gave
the incident only spotty coverage with little commentary. The Danes
and the Dutch commented briefly on the accident at the NATO political
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committee session on January 31. The Dutch representative expressed
his appreciation for US notification and commented that his govern-
ment would like NATO to consider how information about future inci-
dents could be exchanged so that precautions could be taken. The
Danish representative asked whether the allies intended to protest
to the USSR about the lack of prior warning of the dangers the sat-
ellite posed. The Danish government has announced that it intends .
to inform the USSR that Denmark would have appreciated advance Soviet
notification that the satellite was in difficulty.
Official Italian concern focused primarily on fears about radio-
activity and the scientific conclusions that could be drawn from the
incident. Italy was put on a three-day nuclear alert, including tests
for radioactivity. One commentator deplored the technological gap
which makes Italy dependent on the "science, resources and technical
protection of another country, the United States." In a press inter-
view, the chairman of the National Nuclear Physics Institute commented
that because the satellite was nuclear powered and the US had abandoned
nuclear propulsion in space 10 years ago, the USSR is now technologically
10 years behind the US.
Japan was pleased with the US warning and with US willingness to
consult fully. In lodging a protest with Moscow on the incident, Tokyo
demanded that the Soviets provide the details of the accident, procedures
for preventing a recurrence, and information about other Soviet satellites
now in orbit. The government's action is designed in part to respond to
popular sensitivity about nuclear issues. The incident prompted Japan
to press publicly for the UN to consider ways to prevent satellite acci-
dents.
Countries Not Informed by the US
South Korean concern over the incident focused on the question of
how Washington selected the countries to be given advance notification.
Officials in Seoul felt once agai that Korea was excluded from the
i cl
Immediately after the news broke, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs received a flood of press inquiries about whether Spain had been
advised in advance by the US and if not, why not. Spanish media interest
remained intense for several days, with criticism focusing on the US role.
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The Soviets were clearly more culpable, but at least Moscow was con-
sistent and did not warn anybody. The US, on the other hand, warned
NATO countries but did not inform Spain, in spite of the important
bilateral treaty between the two countries. The inference was that
Spain is a second class ally.
In Austria Chancellor Bruno Kreisky made a statement on the fall
of the sifteTrFi which acknowledged previous information but refused
to name his informant. He also said that his information had been
confirmed through the Austrian embassy in Moscow. Kreisky claimed
that Austria had mobilized a team Of experts, probably in an effort
to forestall public concern.
The press in Costa Rica has criticized the USSR for not revealing
the mission of the Cosmos satellites, pointing out "the danger posed
by certain military equipment that has been rotating around the earth."
China has not commented officially on the satellite crash. A
Communist controlled newspaper in Hong Kong claimed that as the result
of the incident "we have become the victim of US-Soviet contention in
space." The official Chinese news agency has limited its coverage to
factual reports of the incident and has replayed Western statements
criticizing the USSR.
The East Europeocountries have given only light media coverage
to the accident. For the most part, they initially limited reporting
to a replay of the January 24 Tass statement. Subsequently, the Poles
commented that the incident was handled well by all concerned parties
and that this is a good example of US-Soviet cooperation and the detente
process. Similarly, Budapest commented favorably on President Carter's
proposal for a ban on nuclear-powered satellites and gave objective
reportage to the US-Soviet cooperation handling of the incident. The
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IteRC-4
Czechs and the East Germans, in contrast, played up an alleged Western
propaganda effort aimed at exaggerating the radioactive dangers involved;
East Berlin radio stressed, in this connection, that the West Germans
were particularly at fault. Bucharest radio on February 4 repeated the
commentary made by Soviet Academician Sedov and other East European media
will probably do the same.
The Yugoslav Tanjug correspondent in Moscow, in addition to quoting
from the lass statement,added that "after this incident, the public will
probably follow more carefully the moment when the Soviet space supply
satellite "Progress-1" re-enters the atmosphere and burns." Expectedly,
Belgrade has linked the accident with the need for increased efforts
toward international disarmament and the UN Special Session on Disarma-
ment of which they were initial sponsors.
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ET
SUBJECT: Reaction to the Cosmos 954 Accident
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