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In 1983 a Soviet early-warning system reported American missiles inbound. The duty officer, Stanislav Petrov, decided it was a malfunction and did not pass it up the chain. He was right.

Stanislav Petrov, 26 September 1983

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Why it matters

The idea in context

The satellite system flagged five launches from the United States. Petrov's job was to report; protocol pointed towards retaliation, and Cold War tensions were at their sharpest in years. He reasoned that a genuine first strike would involve hundreds of missiles, not five, and called it a false alarm — with no way of being certain and minutes to decide. The cause turned out to be sunlight glinting off high cloud into the satellite's sensors. He was quietly reassigned rather than decorated, and the story only emerged in the 1990s.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

1983'te bir Sovyet erken uyarı sistemi Amerikan füzelerinin geldiğini bildirdi. Nöbetçi subay Stanislav Petrov bunun bir arıza olduğuna karar verdi ve yukarı iletmedi. Haklıydı.
Stanislav Petrov, 26 Eylül 1983

Uydu sistemi Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nden beş fırlatma işaretledi. Petrov'un görevi bildirmekti; protokol karşılık vermeye işaret ediyordu ve Soğuk Savaş gerginliği yıllardır en keskin noktasındaydı. Gerçek bir ilk vuruşun beş değil yüzlerce füze içereceğini akıl yürüttü ve bunu yanlış alarm ilan etti — emin olmanın hiçbir yolu ve karar için dakikaları varken. Nedeni, yüksek bulutlardan uydunun sensörlerine yansıyan güneş ışığı çıktı. Madalya yerine sessizce başka göreve verildi ve öykü ancak 1990'larda ortaya çıktı.

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Background reading: Stanislav PetrovAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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