Nuclear security

The Solar Storm That Nearly Sparked Nuclear War Between US and Soviet Union

According to a new paper authored by Delores Knipp at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and published in the journal Space Weather, the incident occurred May 23, 1967. Three of the United States’ early warning radar installations were suddenly jammed. While the cause was a series of solar bursts, US military officials worried it was the Soviets launching a first-strike nuclear attack.

"There were a series of bursts from the sun," Knipp told CBS News. "The second one started to bring down or severely degrade the kind of communications SAC (Strategic Air Command) would use communicating with its aircraft."

Out of precaution, long-range nuclear bombers already in the air were upgraded to "ready to launch" status and Strategic Air Command prepared to deploy additional bombers.