Happy Petrov Day
Sep. 26th, 2010 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arachnekallistiOn 26th September 1983, Lietenant Colonel Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov saved the world.
A newly-installed satellite early warning network had misidentified reflected sunlight from high-altitude clouds as the launch of five US intercontinental ballistic missiles. Petrov deduced that five missiles would make an unlikely first strike, and based on that and the lack of corroborative radar evidence, decided that he'd rather not risk nuclear war. He was first praised for making the correct judgement call, then reprimanded for not following procedure, and later quietly retired to the town of Fryazino. The story didn't come out until the mid-90s.
Interviewed for a documentary in 2008, Petrov said "I was simply doing my job, and I was the right person at the right time, that's all." The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists records that after the incident, he went home, drank an entire bottle of vodka and slept for 24 hours.
Tell everyone. He deserves to be more famous.
A newly-installed satellite early warning network had misidentified reflected sunlight from high-altitude clouds as the launch of five US intercontinental ballistic missiles. Petrov deduced that five missiles would make an unlikely first strike, and based on that and the lack of corroborative radar evidence, decided that he'd rather not risk nuclear war. He was first praised for making the correct judgement call, then reprimanded for not following procedure, and later quietly retired to the town of Fryazino. The story didn't come out until the mid-90s.
Interviewed for a documentary in 2008, Petrov said "I was simply doing my job, and I was the right person at the right time, that's all." The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists records that after the incident, he went home, drank an entire bottle of vodka and slept for 24 hours.
Tell everyone. He deserves to be more famous.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-26 08:11 pm (UTC)