Great Jones - Shop now
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
$4.99 with 50 percent savings
Print List Price: $9.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Leo Heaps
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Operation Morning Light: Terror in Our Skies, The True Story of Cosmos 954 Kindle Edition

by Leo Heaps (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
A riveting history of a Space Age disaster that left the Canadian wilderness polluted by Soviet radioactive waste.

Viewers of Chernobyl or fans of David Wallace-Wells and Mike Berners-Lee will find this a fascinating work.

On 24th January 1978, a Soviet spy satellite broke up upon re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. Debris was scattered across thousands of miles of northern Canada, yet what was more worrying was that the satellite contained one hundred pounds of enriched uranium, contaminating the Canadian wilderness.

Why had this satellite, designed for long-term orbit, come crashing to earth? Should we be asking more questions about the large number of radioactive satellites that still circle the earth?

Two days after Cosmos 954 had broken up Leo Heaps decided to make his way to the Northwest Territories to find out just how widespread the contamination was and to witness Operation Morning Light, the largest search for nuclear debris ever undertaken.

Heaps interviewed defence ministers, scientists, politicians, military men and local inhabitants to build up a picture of how this event unfolded; how the Soviet Union had lost control of its satellite and how panic had gripped America as the satellite stuttered over Maine, Las Vegas and Miami.

As the clean-up operation began Heaps witnessed the American NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) and Canadian NAST (Nuclear Accident Support Team) going into action with planes and helicopters to search for radioactive debris that was spread over hundreds of miles.

Operation Morning Light is a brilliant exposé on the damage that humankind can do to the earth in its quest for knowledge and exploration. It investigates how North America was polluted by a nuclear-powered Soviet satellite at the height of the Cold War.

“a straightforward account, quoting officials and engineers by name, and managing at the same time to point out the ludicrousness of our nuclear society.” Kirkus Reviews
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    207 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 21, 2020
  4. File size
    1.1 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
iphone with kindle app
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.

View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.

Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.

Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: Link to the kindle app page Link to the kindle app page
Enjoy a great reading experience when you borrow the Kindle edition of this book with your Kindle Unlimited membership. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0869FZZQZ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (June 21, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 21, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.1 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 207 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 84 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Leo Heaps

Leo Heaps

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
84 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Mike Simmons
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting search for a radioactive core
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    After the unintended crash of a nuclear powered Soviet satellite a team of Canadian and U.S. Scientists behind a search for the radioactive material that has contaminated more than 15,000 square miles of Canadian territory. The author in great detail explains the search and it's uncertain outcome. A good read.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Jill Ebright
    5.0 out of 5 stars How do you find a shattered satellite in a huge snow field before the radiation finds you?
    Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Do you remember the Russian satellite COSMOS 954 that malfunctioned in less than a year and slammed back through Earth's atmosphere in a fiery burn out in 1978? Do you recall it was powered by a 500 pound enriched uranium nuclear reactor? Do you know that the radioactive debris from the satellite covered thousands of square miles of Canada's Northwest Territory around the Great Slave Lake? That is what this book is all about, exploring the workings of America's nuclear accident response team collaborating with Canada's own task force to find the radioactive remnants from the satellite breakup and !its importantly, the nuclear reactor. It is a sub zero cold, bitter and harsh environment to search and the author details those obstacles and the men who persevered. This book was written and published in 1978 and the story and outcomes of the search are incomplete. This only makes you want to do your own research and update the unanswered questions. A great book.
    8 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Gary A. Albright
    3.0 out of 5 stars a fascinating story, a somewhat frustrating read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Operation Morning Light is the story of the joint Canadian-American effort to recover the wreckage of the Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 which broke up in the atmosphere in January 1978 and spread radioactive debris over a large swath of Canada's Northwest Territories. It is a fascinating story, but the book was ultimately frustrating, for several reasons.

    First, the story is incomplete. This is not the author's fault. When the recovery effort was finally called off in the Spring of 1978, because the thawing of the lakes and rivers made it much more difficult and more dangerous for crews to continue searching, only about 10% of the debris had been recovered. The remaining 90%, including the bulk of the satellite's nuclear reactor, is still out there, probably at the bottom of some unidentified lake or river. The debris still poses a threat to humans and wildlife, as the radioactivity will persist for thousands of years, but barring the development of improved technology to search for it, it will remain there. There was a political postscript to the story, which the author does not mention, but it is readily available on Wikipedia for anyone who wishes to read about it.

    My main criticisms of the book pertain to the author's writing style. He frequently switches back and forth between the present and past tense, which results in a disjointed narrative. This is something a good editor should have caught. In addition, he goes into great detail about the individuals involved in the search, sometimes to the extent that it feels like he is padding the narrative. (In one instance he devotes an entire sentence to what a person is wearing, when he could have simply said the person dresses casually.) This too has the effect of interrupting the narrative, dragging it out pointlessly. The book is not long to begin with, only about 200 pages, but I would have preferred that the author eliminate some of the unnecessary (to me) description and focus on the narrative of the search. It sometimes seems like the author is more interested in the actors than in the story, and it is the story that to me has the greater appeal.

    So, to sum it up, a fascinating story told in a way that detracts from this reader's enjoyment of it. I would give it a rating of maybe 3.5 stars, but no higher than that. Ultimately a disappointment.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Leo Weiss
    4.0 out of 5 stars Nuclear reactors in space?
    Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Seems like we are ok with nuclear reactor satellites that land in the ocean.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Robert D.
    2.0 out of 5 stars A most anti-climatic ending
    Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The characters are well fleshed out, as are their contributions, but after all that only 1% of the satellite was ever recovered. Even 40+ years later, it still hasn't been found. That is both scary and depressing. Perhaps that is the purpose of the book, but it left me feeling empty and dissatisfied.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • da perfesser
    5.0 out of 5 stars An "unfortunate" accident with radioactive space debris!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    A nuclear-powered Russian satellite falls out of the sky and spreads radioactive waste across a huge swath of the Canadian Arctic. With no warnings, and official denials from the Kremlin. At the height of the Cold War! A well-written history of this tense moment in international relations. You may never have heard of this, but I doubt you'll ever forget it!
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • nick
    4.0 out of 5 stars accurate and first-hand
    Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2006
    Leo, a Canadian from Alberta, travelled to Yellowknife to get the true story. This book was well researched with Leo interviewing most, if not all, of the search and decontamination team, Arctic explorers, etc. This book is a treasure trove of information about those long ago events of 1978.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Frank Walder
    3.0 out of 5 stars It's a good read with a lot of detail
    Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    It's a good read with a lot of detail. The problem is that it is only half the story. I guess because it was written in 1978 the author was not able to relate the Soviet half of the story. Someone with a lot of extra time and money should journey to Russia and Kazakhstan to research and write a sequel with the other side of the story.
    3 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Larry
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on March 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Good information book on the Cosmos 945 that crashed in the NWT>
    Report
  • David Duckworth
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stranger than fiction
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    1978 is a long time ago and the wilds of Canada thousands of miles from my position but the author carried me through time and distance to be right there. Frightening, enthralling and thought provoking right to the last sentence. This should be a major film.
    Report
  • William
    1.0 out of 5 stars horrible
    Reviewed in Canada on January 9, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Terrible, factually inaccurate, not worth a penny
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report