Vela 4A

Vela 4A (also known Vela 7 and OPS 6638^[3]) was an American reconnaissance satellite to detect explosions and nuclear tests on land and in space. It was released together with Vela 4B, ERS 18, OV5 1 and OV5 3.^[4]

Vela 4A

Operator	USAF
COSPAR ID	1967-040A[1]
SATCAT no.	2765[2]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	TRW
Launch mass	225 kilograms (496 lb)
Power	120 W
Start of mission
Launch date	April 28, 1967, 10:01 (1967-04-28UTC10:01Z) UTC
Rocket	Titan III-C
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-41
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Highly Elliptical
Semi-major axis	117,619 kilometres (73,085 mi)
Perigee altitude	53,631.5 kilometres (33,325.1 mi)
Apogee altitude	161,866.1 kilometres (100,578.9 mi)
Inclination	19.9°
Period	6,690.8 minutes (111.513 h)
Vela ← Vela 3B Vela 4B →

The ship remains in orbit around Earth.

Instruments

• 2 optical bhangmeters observing Earth
• 12 external X-ray detectors
• 18 internal neutron and gamma-ray detectors

See also

• Vela (satellite)