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

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 (1963-10-17UTC02:24Z)
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 (1963-10-17)
Vela ← None Vela 1B →

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 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

• Vela (satellite)