How a Routine Science Launch Almost Triggered WW3

The Norwegian rocket incident: in 1995 a science rocket studying the Northern Lights got Russia's nuclear briefcase opened. Why? A lost letter. Mini Fiascos · The day a science rocket almost started World War 3, explained the Fiascology way. On January 25, 1995, Russia's early-warning radar saw a four-stage rocket climbing out of the Norwegian Sea and feared it was an American Trident missile. With about ten minutes to decide, Boris Yeltsin's "Cheget" nuclear briefcase was brought to him and switched on, the first known time ever. We cover the vague letter Norway sent to about 30 countries, Russia's leaky radar shield, the Cold War's other near-misses (1962, 1979, 1983), eight minutes of tracking, the news report that Russia had shot the rocket down, and why how close it really came is still debated. Plus a 2026 footnote: New START has expired. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Ten minutes to decide 0:23 The science rocket 1:28 The letter 2:25 Russia in 1995 3:20 Nuclear near-misses 3:52 The radar's nightmare 4:26 Launch morning 5:21 The nuclear briefcase 7:09 Stand down 7:39 "Russia shot it down" 8:22 How close was it? 8:47 The lesson 9:29 The letter arrives ▶ Watch next: When 1,600 Men Went to War Over a Strip of Swamp —    • When 1,600 Men Went to War Over a Strip of...   ▶ Playlist: Mini Fiascos 📚 SOURCES Smithsonian Magazine, "When Russian radar mistook a Norwegian scientific rocket for a US missile" (2025): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-... Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, "What this Norwegian close call says about a world without New START" (Apr 2026): https://thebulletin.org/2026/04/what-... UPI, "Yeltsin: Russia tracked missile" (Jan 26, 1995): https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/01/... GlobalSecurity.org, "False Alarm, 25 January 1995": https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/wo... Federation of American Scientists, "The expiration of New START": https://fas.org/publication/the-expir... Wikipedia, "Norwegian rocket incident": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegi... Copyright: Fiascology does not give permission to translate and/or re-upload our videos or designs on YouTube or any other platform. -------------- ATTRIBUTIONS -------------- Music: original score made for Fiascology. Sound effects: [SFX SOURCES] Images: Black Brant XII launch — NASA Goddard Space Flight Center — CC BY 2.0 — Andøya Rocket Range — [AUTHOR] — CC BY-SA 2.0 Boris Yeltsin official portrait — Presidential Press and Information Office, kremlin.ru — CC BY 4.0 Aurora borealis, northern Norway — [AUTHOR] — [LICENCE] Trident II D5 launch — U.S. Navy — public domain Early-warning radar building — [AUTHOR] — [LICENCE] Stock photo: [PHOTOGRAPHER] — Pexels / Unsplash Thanks for watching! #History #Fiascology #WorldWar3