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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Space debris and re-entry · Canada · 1978–1981

Soviet nuclear satellite Cosmos 954 crashes in Canada; USSR pays C$3m in 1981

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The Soviet nuclear satellite Cosmos 954 crashed in northern Canada in January 1978. A 1981 protocol settled Canada’s claim for C$3 million with no admission of liability, and the sources reviewed say there was no specific rule for space debris.

What?
A Soviet nuclear satellite fell in Canada, and the USSR later paid C$3 million to settle Canada’s claim without admitting liability. JAXA
Where?
Northwest Territories, Canada
When?
Crash on 24 January 1978; claim dated 23 January 1979; protocol signed 2 April 1981 JAXA
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Settled by a diplomatic protocol under the 1972 Liability Convention framework JAXA
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

Soviet nuclear satellite Cosmos 954 crashed in Canada on 24 January 1978 (no source link in the sources reviewed).

The protocol signed on 2 April 1981 settled Canada’s claim for C$3,000,000 “in full and final settlement”, with no admission of liability, according to the protocol text hosted by JAXA.

The UN’s 2007 space debris guidelines state that they are not legally binding (UN document; no source link in the sources reviewed).

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 1979-01-23–1981-04-02Settled
      Protocol settling the Cosmos 954 claim
      Diplomatic settlement under the 1972 Liability Convention · Civil · Canada → Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

      The protocol signed on 2 April 1981 settled the claim for C$3,000,000 “in full and final settlement”, with no admission of liability. JAXA

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the claim is described as the only formal claim ever made under the Liability Convention.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say what environmental damage the debris caused.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Bonds and banking

    Guarantee
    A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.
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