Vela 2A, also known as Vela 3, Vela Hotel 3 and OPS 3662,[3] was a U.S. military satellite developed to detect nuclear detonations to monitor compliance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty by the Soviet Union. The secondary task of the ship was space research (X-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, magnetic field and charged particles).

Vela 2A
Vela satellite.
OperatorUSAF
COSPAR ID1964-040A[1]
SATCAT no.836
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerTRW
Launch mass150 kilograms (330 lb)
Power90 W
Start of mission
Launch dateJuly 17, 1964, 08:22 (1964-07-17UTC08:22Z) UTC
RocketAtlas LV-3A Agena-D
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-13
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric[2]
RegimeHighly Elliptical
Eccentricity0.5262
Perigee altitude45,585 kilometres (28,325 mi)
Apogee altitude161,011 kilometres (100,048 mi)
Inclination75.15°
EpochJuly 10, 2017 (2017-07-10)
← Vela 1B
Vela 2B →

Launch

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Vela 2A was released on July 17, 1964, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, through an Atlas-Agena launch vehicle. Vela 2A was launched along with Vela 2B and with ERS 13.[4]

 
Launch of Vela 2A.

Capabilities

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Vela 2A was rotationally stabilized (2 rotations per sec.). The ship could work in real time mode (one data frame per second) or in data recording mode (one frame every 256 seconds). The first mode was used for the first 40% of the mission's duration. The second one was used until the next pair of Vela satellites were launched.

Instruments

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "Vela 2A". Retrieved June 28, 2018.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ N2YO.com. "OPS 3662 (VELA 3)". N2YO.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Antonín Vítek. "1964-040A - Vela 3". Space 40. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  4. ^ Wade, Mark. "Vela". Astronautix. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
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