what is the possibility of a torpedo malfunction?
a malfunction of the warheard, or a fuel handling
accident?
"what is the possibility of a torpedo malfunction?
a malfunction of the warheard, or a fuel handling
accident?"
Certainly seem like possible options, but to me less likely than a suggestion by Par350--an explosion during battery switching. That's the best one I've heard thus far on the thread.
There is a movie out with Ed Harris and David Duchovny about this very topic.
It was based on this story, and the sinking may have occurred due to mutiny. It is possible, and given what we now know about the structure and hierarchy of the Soviet Navy back then, that a group aboard had essentially jacked the sub and locked up the crew. The crew got loose and they ended up battling each other for control of the sub.
As for our ability to see it from space, after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the NRO was given an essentially unlimited budget. Who knows when the first KeyHole-caliber tech was deployed?