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Vela 1A

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Vela 1A
Vela 1A
OperatorUSAF
COSPAR ID1963-039A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.00674
Mission duration6 months (planned)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerTRW
Launch mass150 kilograms (330 lb)
Power90 W
Start of mission
Launch dateOctober 17, 1963, 02:24 (1963-10-17UTC02:24Z)
RocketAtlas-LV3 Agena-D
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-13
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeHighly Elliptical
Perigee altitude101,081 kilometres (62,809 mi)
Apogee altitude116,582 kilometres (72,441 mi)
Inclination38.7°
Period6,486.2 minutes
EpochOctober 17, 1963 (1963-10-17)
← None
Vela 1B →

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.

Launch

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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

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Vela 1A was a 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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wade, Mark. "Vela". Astronautix. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  2. ^ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "Vela 1A". Retrieved June 1, 2018.