It was one of the most frightening moments since the Cuban missile crisis.
In the early morning hours of January 25, 1995 a Russian radar crew spotted a
fast-moving object above the Barents Sea at Russia's northern border. A
missile they couldn't identify. The Russians have always viewed U.S. nuclear
submarines as the greatest threat; a Trident missile launched from that area
could reach Russia's mainland in 10 minutes
 At the Russian radar station, the crew saw the missile suddenly separate
into several sections just as the warheads of a Trident missile would. Their
trajectory seemed to be carrying them towards Moscow. In Moscow, a signal went
out to the nuclear briefcases which always accompany President Boris Yeltsin and
top defense officials. Russia had established a deadline: they're supposed to
detect an attack, assess it and reach a decision on retaliation within 10
minutes.
There were only 5 minutes left. Urgent radio contact was made with Russian
submarine commanders. Orders were given to go into a state of combat readiness
and the military issued orders to the Strategic Forces to prepare to possibly
receive the next command, which would have been the launch order.
For 4 minutes, the Russian commanders waited for the order to launch. The
Russian strategic plans permit launching Russian missiles before enemy
missiles hit Russian territory. Eight minutes after the alarm was first
sounded, the mysterious objects fell into the seas. The decision to launch a
retaliatory nuclear strike was averted; the Russian forces stood down.
Hours later, the Russians learned that the unidentified object had been a
scientific rocket launched from Norway to study the Northern lights. The
Russian government had been notified weeks earlier the launch was coming, but
no one told the radar crew
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