Vela 4A

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 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]

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)

References

1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "Vela 4A". Retrieved 28 September 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. Ford, Dominic. "OPS 63". In-The-Sky.org. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
3. Antonín Vítek. "1967-040A - Vela 7". Space 40. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
4. Krebs, Gunter. "Vela 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (advanced Vela)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 28 September 2019.