In the nuclear age, history has often turned on a decision not made. Behind celebrated treaties and public declarations are moments where catastrophe was narrowly avoided. Those incidents revealed how fragile peace truly is—and how easily it can be broken. The Cuban Missile Crisis was frightening, but not as frightening as these later events, when nuclear arsenals had grown much larger. But unfortunately, out-of-sight, out-of-mind came to bear, and concerns about nuclear weapons diminished as WWII faded into memory.

The 1979 Nuclear False Alarm

Picture yourself in the room. A technician accidentally loads a training program that simulates a Soviet nuclear attack onto a computer at North American Aerospace Defense Command. The system responds as it should, indicating hundreds of incoming ICBMs. But the computer was also connected to other military computers, causing them to register the attack as well. To personnel on duty, it was the real thing. Absolute panic broke out. A nuclear alert was initiated, and ballistic missiles were prepared to launch.

President Carter’s National Security Advisor awoke to a phone call from NORAD Headquarters in the middle of the night. America was under full-scale nuclear attack. Minutes later, his phone rang again. The attack was confirmed. Hundreds of Soviet ICBMs were moments away. He prepared to inform the President, knowing just minutes remained before the White House was destroyed. But then his phone rang a third time. False alarm.

Someone had noticed the missiles weren’t registering on radars as they should have been. An investigation was initiated, and the nukes eventually stood down. But another hair-raiser was added to the list. What if word of the ‘confirmed attack’ had reached the President in time to order a nuclear ‘counterstrike’ before America was destroyed? That could have happened. We’re lucky it didn’t. The protocol was changed, and the system was declared trustworthy and reliable once more.

The Faulty 46-cent Computer Chip

Trustworthy and reliable, but less than a year later, NORAD’s early warning system registered another attack by ICBMs. Military computers at other facilities again confirmed the attack was real. Nuclear forces went on high alert. ICBMs prepared to launch on a moment’s notice.

The new false alarms were eventually traced to a faulty 46-cent computer chip. The chip was replaced, and the system was declared reliable again. But it seems obvious that mechanical and electrical systems subject to failure are not compatible with nuclear weapons. Is it wise to bet our lives and our civilization on obtaining perfection from imperfect systems?

The Stanislav Petrov Incident

Four decades ago, one man probably saved the world as we know it today. Colonel Stanislav Petrov was commanding the Soviet Nuclear Early Warning Center in the early morning hours of September 26, 1983. Suddenly, piercing alarms indicated the Soviet Union was under attack by American ICBMs. Thirty independent reliability checks confirmed the attack was authentic.

Colonel Petrov’s duty was clear. Before him was a telephone to his superiors in the Soviet Air Defense Forces. Petrov reached for it, then hesitated. His duty was clear. The attack was confirmed. But Petrov disobeyed orders and did not pick up the phone. He knew that Soviet military protocol was also clear, and called for an all-out counterstrike upon confirmed warning.

Later investigation revealed that an early warning satellite had identified sunlight reflecting off clouds as incoming missiles. It was the height of the Cold War, and authorities familiar with the incident believe the Soviets would have launched a massive nuclear attack had Colonel Petrov picked up that phone. America would have responded in kind, and we wouldn’t be here today.

Able Archer 83

In 1983, the Soviet Union nearly launched a nuclear first strike against America and Western Europe. When a NATO military exercise called Able Archer was conducted near the Soviet Union’s borders, it was mistaken by Russia as preparation for a nuclear first strike. ICBMs went on high alert. Strategic bombers were prepared for war. Nuclear artillery pieces moved to front-line positions for the very first time. Documents declassified years later revealed how dangerously close the Soviets came to launching a nuclear strike against America and NATO. The military was requesting it, and Soviet leader Yuri Andropov was teetering on the edge.

Once again, one man may have saved our civilization. A NATO front-line commander, General Leonard H. Perroots, was increasingly disturbed by the Soviet nuclear buildup. His training called for matching aggressive action with aggressive action of his own. But instead, he did nothing, fearing that aggression on his part might spark an actual war. Able Archer eventually ended, and Soviet military posture returned to normal. But as National Archive investigator Nate Jones revealed in his book Able Archer 83, the Russians were in a state of near panic, honestly believing they were about to suffer a nuclear strike.

The 1995 Norwegian Rocket Incident

In 1995, Norwegian and American scientists launched a rocket off the coast of Norway to study the Northern Lights. But unfortunately, the rocket was mistaken by Russian radar operators as a ballistic missile fired at Russia from an American submarine in the Barents Sea. Military strategists believe a nuclear war might start with a single warhead that generates an electromagnetic pulse, blinding early warning systems to the main strike that follows.

The Cold War was over, with tensions between America and Russia at their lowest point since WWII. But Russia’s nuclear forces went on high alert anyway. Russian President Boris Yeltsin immediately activated his mobile nuclear command center, then uploaded prepared orders for nuking America and NATO. Yeltsin was told that ten minutes remained until impact. Eight minutes passed before a false alarm was declared.

Yeltsin stood down, but two minutes left to decide under that kind of pressure? And Yeltsin was a chronic alcoholic who often drank in the morning. He was probably impaired when the incident occurred. A drunk with his fingers on a nuclear command keyboard. We can’t go on this way.

Why These Stories Matter

Each of those incidents illustrates how human error, system failure, or mistrust can bring us to the brink of nuclear disaster. They also show how often peace has been preserved by chance, caution, or the decision of one person. The line between nuclear life and death is much thinner than most people realize.

Today, nuclear risks are increasing, as the international framework that once helped manage those threats has weakened. Without effective action, the next near-miss may be the one that doesn’t.

At Our Planet Project Foundation, we are committed to telling these stories. Why? Because they are more than history – they are unmistakable warnings that are relevant today. Understanding how close we have come to nuclear armageddon is essential to preventing a nuclear war in the future. Peace exists only when we deliberately act to nurture it.