Vela 1A

Vela 1A
130px
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 101,081 kilometres (62,809 mi)
Apogee 116,582 kilometres (72,441 mi)
Inclination 38.7°
Period 6,486.2 minutes
Epoch October 17, 1963 (1963-10-17)

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. It was released on October 17, 1963 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, through an Atlas-Agena launch vehicle. Vela 1A was launched along with Vela 1B and with ERS 12.[1]

Vela 1A was spin-stabilized 124-kg satellite comprising the first launch in a series of six Vela launches. Together with his 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

References

  1. Wade, Mark. "Vela". Astronautix. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "Vela 1A". Retrieved June 1, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.