On this day in engineering history, a United States Vela satellite
detected a double flash of light in the Indian Ocean between Bouvet Island and
the Prince Edward Islands.
The satellite's primary mission was to monitor Earth's atmosphere and space for
nuclear explosions in accordance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, an
international agreement that prohibited the detonation of nuclear weapons
except underground.
An ad hoc panel later found that the cause of the September
22, 1979 incident was a meteoroid hitting the satellite. Although the panel
cited a discrepancy in bhangmeter readings as evidence, others who examined satellite
data concluded that the double flash was a nuclear detonation. These parties
included government contractors, national laboratories, and the Defense Intelligence
Agency (DIA) - a part of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 was signed by the
world's three nuclear-capable countries (the U.S.,
U.K.
and U.S.S.R.) to limit how often, when, and where these powers could test
nuclear weapons. To monitor treaty compliance and help halt nuclear
proliferation, the United
States launched Project Vela (the word
"vela" means vigil in Spanish). .U.S. efforts were divided into three parts: ground
(and subterranean), atmospheric, and space/orbit detonations.
Proving a Test Was
Harder Than Envisioned – Limitations in Technology
 In addition to
analyzing data from the Vela satellite, the United States used other methods to
determine if the Vela Incident was a nuclear weapons test. Attempts to collect
samples of radioactive fallout were unsuccessful, however. First, there was the
problem of reaching the remote Indian Ocean site
quickly enough. Second, there were technological considerations.
Those who believe the Vela Incident wasn't a nuclear test cite
the age of the satellite, which was already two years past its design retirement
date. If the satellite's sensors were no longer fully functional, its readings were
probably inaccurate. By design, the sensors on these satellites would detect a
nuclear test through a light emission variance (a short, initial flash followed
by a second, more prolonged flash).
Assigning Responsibility
Although no one has ever claimed responsibility for the Vela
Incident of 1979, there have been a number of theories about the source of the
nuclear test. Such speculation has always been a hotter question than whether
it was a test in the first place, given the state of the Cold War and other
geopolitical problems facing the Carter Administration in 1979.
The three most common theories about the origins of a
nuclear detonation are that the Vela Incident was a South African test, an
Israeli test, or a joint South African-Israeli test.
Project Phoenix?
Given the geographic location of the Vela Incident, a South
African connection seems plausible. That Israel would cooperate with the
apartheid regime seems less so. Evidence discovered since the end of South Africa's
race-based regime casts new light on the mysterious double-flash, however.
At the time, both Israel
and South Africa
had nuclear ambitions and capabilities. Accordingly, Israel allegedly assisted South
African in developing the delivery system (more than the device itself). A 2008
publication, The Nuclear Express: A Political History of the Bomb and its
Proliferation by Thomas C. Reed and Danny B. Stillman add further credence
to this possibility.
Thirty
years later, details of the Vela Incident remain hidden behind politics,
espionage, and government secrecy (even government systems that no longer exist).
According to those who have come forward, however, the event was a nuclear test
by Israel and South Africa,
and possibly dubbed Project Phoenix.
Resources:
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Safrica/Vela.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_(satellite)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Vela
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_Test_Ban_Treaty
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