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Today is an important 23rd anniversary that I, like most of you, are probably unaware of. 23 years ago on this date was almost the end of the world and one cool head saved the day.
Don't believe me? Read on...
On 26th September 1983 the hero of the day, Colonel Stanislav Yefgrafovich Petrov, clocked on for work as normal. Petrov was in charge of the Soviet Union's satellite warning systems and this was the height of the cold war. Everyone was on edge because NATO was carrying out its annual tactical exercises and two weeks before the Soviets had shot down a Korean airliner that had wandered into the wrong airspace.
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[A]t 40 minutes past midnight on the 26th Petrov looked up and saw a missile launch from a United States silo had been detected by one of his satellites. Now you might expect panic at this point but missile command tends to attract the serious, sober type, probably the type of people who smoke a pipe and sew leather patches on their jackets, and Petrov kept his head.
He knew the satellite had been reported as suspect and decided to hold off on informing the high command. Then a second missile launch was picked up, and shortly after another, and another and another. Petrov knew that if he waited until he could confirm the launches with ground radar it would be too late for his country and the Yankees would win the Cold War.
Thankfully for us he thought before acting. He reasoned that it was illogical for a surprise attack to launched missiles one after the other - instead you'd launch everything you had and hope to wipe out the enemy before they reacted. He left the launch button alone and thankfully the missiles proved to be ghosts.
I'm going to have a glass of vodka in rememberance of Colonel Petrov who proves to us that humanity may just be sane enough to survive. I urge you to remember his heroic act today yourself.