Detection of uranium from cosmos-1402 in the stratosphere.
The nuclear reactor from the Soviet radar reconnaissance satellite, Cosmos-1402, reentered the earth's atmosphere on 7 February 1983 and disintegrated over the South Atlantic Ocean. The reactor was powered by approximately 50 kilograms of uranium-235 ((235)U). In an effort to determine the fate of the reactor core, a series of aerosol samples were collected at altitudes between 27 and 36 kilometers in the Northern Hemisphere approximately 1.1 years later by high-altitude balloons. At an altitude of 36 kilometers a 53 +/- 20 percent excess in the (235)U concentration was measured. The total excess of (235)U in the stratosphere was calculated to be 44 +/- 15 kilograms.
Leifer
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Fassett
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Eberhardt
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