Wednesday, April 29, 1981
Monday, April 27, 1981
Friday, April 17, 1981
Tuesday, April 14, 1981
Sunday, April 12, 1981
Vela 1
1963-039A
Vela 1A (Satellite 1801; although this is also the Agena stage serial number and may be an error) was launched on 1963 Oct 17. It was a 1.4m dia icosahedron. The satellite had a mass of 135 kg after orbit insertion and carried a Hercules BE-3A kick motor modified from the Ranger retrorocket. The BE-3A may have had a mass of 90 kg.
Some sources indicate the Agena made two burns, with an initial 360 km parking orbit; however an Agena document history indicates only one burn was made on the Vela launches.
The early Vela satellites were spin stabilized. The April 1964 elements show periapsis at latitude 38S, suggesting transfer orbit apogee was there.
The X-ray scintillator detectors were also used for solar flux measurements by the LASL team. They covered the 0.5-15A (0.8-20 keV) range down to 10-3 erg/cm2/s and detected solar X-ray bursts (SR6, 893).
| Vela 1A (1801) | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 Oct 17 | 0232 | Launch by Atlas Agena D | CC |
| 0234? | BECO | ||
| 0236? | SECO | ||
| 0236? | Atlas sep, 174 km | ||
| 0238? | Agena burn | ||
| 0242? | Agena MECO | 360? x 360? x 36? | |
| 0250? | Agena burn 2 2.88 km/s | ||
| 0250? | Agena MECO-2 | 360? x 108000 x 36.8 | |
| 0255? | Sep from Agena | ||
| 0256? | Sep from SC 1851 | ||
| 0300? | Eject interstage | ||
| 1955? | BE3 AKM fired | ||
| 2022? | Heat shield ejected | |
| 2157 | Instruments on | ||
| 113000 x 102098 x 38.3 | |||
| 1964 Apr 1 | 101080 x 116580 x 38.7 | ||
| 1965 Feb 1 | 101129 x 116251 x 38.0 | ||
| 1965 Aug | |||
| 1966 Mar 9 | 100348 x 117265 x 37.8 | ||
| 1968 Apr 6 | 91597 x 125960 x 37.4 | ||
| 1968 Aug | End of ops? | ||
| 1969 Jun | End of transmissions | ||
Payload:
- AKM Hercules BE3A
- Optical detector Bhangmeters (2)
- M4 scintillation detectors
- XR/particle detectors (10) (Solar X) (LASL)
- Gamma ray/particle detectors (6)
- Neutron detectors (3)
Vela 1B (satellite 1851) was launched attached to Vela 1A on 1963 Oct 17. It completed an extra orbit before firing its kick motor on Oct 19.
| Vela 1B | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 Oct 17 | 0232 | Launch by Atlas Agena D | CC |
| 1963 Oct 19 | 1000? | T+55h BE3 AKM fired | |
1963 Oct 19 | 1230 | Instruments on | |
| 99300x115800x37.8 | |||
| 1964 Mar 30 | 6519.62 101924 x 116527 x 37.8 | ||
| 1966 Jan 10 | 6506.89 103006 x 115144 x 36.6 | ||
| 1968 Mar 24 | 6518.39 99355 x 119068 x 36.7 | ||