Vela 1A
Vela 1A (or Vela 1) was a military satellite developed to detect nuclear detonations to monitor compliance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty by the Soviet Union.
![]() Vela 1A | |
Operator | USAF |
---|---|
COSPAR ID | 1963-039A |
SATCAT no. | 00674 |
Mission duration | 6 months (planned) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | TRW |
Launch mass | 150 kilograms (330 lb) |
Power | 90 W |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | October 17, 1963, 02:24 |
Rocket | Atlas-LV3 Agena-D |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-13 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Highly Elliptical |
Perigee altitude | 101,081 kilometres (62,809 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 116,582 kilometres (72,441 mi) |
Inclination | 38.7° |
Period | 6,486.2 minutes |
Epoch | October 17, 1963 |
Launch
Vela 1A was launched on October 17, 1963 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, by an Atlas-Agena launch vehicle. Vela 1A was launched along with Vela 1B and with ERS 12.[1]
Mission
Vela 1A was spin-stabilized 124-kg satellite comprising the first launch in a series of six Vela launches. Together with its twin Vela 1B, their objectives were to monitor nuclear weapons explosions in space and to study x-rays, gamma-rays, neutrons, and charged particles as the satellites passed through interplanetary space, the bow shock, the magnetosheath, and the magnetotail.[2]
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See also
References
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