Vela was the name of a group of satellites developed as the Vela Hotel element of Project Vela by the United States to detect nuclear detonations to monitor compliance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty by the Soviet Union.
Project Vela was a project undertaken by the United States Department of Defense to develop and implement methods to monitor compliance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. This treaty banned the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater, effectively meaning nuclear tests were only to be permitted underground.
Koronas-Foton, also known as CORONAS-Photon, was a Russian Solar research satellite. It is the third satellite in the Russian Coronas programme, and part of the international Living With a Star programme. It was launched on 30 January 2009, from Site 32/2 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, aboard the final flight of the Tsyklon-3 rocket. On 1 December 2009 all scientific instruments on the satellite were turned off due to the problems with power supply that were caused by a design flaw. On 18 April 2010 the creators of the satellite announced it was lost "with a good deal of certainty".
The history of gamma-ray began with the serendipitous detection of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) on July 2, 1967, by the U.S. Vela satellites. After these satellites detected fifteen other GRBs, Ray Klebesadel of the Los Alamos National Laboratory published the first paper on the subject, Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts of Cosmic Origin. As more and more research was done on these mysterious events, hundreds of models were developed in an attempt to explain their origins.
Orbiting Vehicle or OV, originally designated SATAR, comprised five disparate series of standardized American satellites operated by the US Air Force, launched between 1965 and 1971. Forty seven satellites were built, of which forty three were launched and thirty seven reached orbit. With the exception of the OV3 series and OV4-3, they were launched as secondary payloads, using excess space on other missions.
An X-ray astronomy satellite studies X-ray emissions from celestial objects, as part of a branch of space science known as X-ray astronomy. Satellites are needed because X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and satellites.
This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2019.
Notable spaceflight activities in 2017 included the maiden flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III on 5 June and the first suborbital test of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket, inaugurating the Mahia spaceport in New Zealand. The rocket is named for its innovative Rutherford engine which feeds propellants via battery-powered electric motors instead of the usual gas generator and turbopumps.
This article lists achieved spaceflight events in 2018. For the first time since 1990, more than 100 orbital launches were performed globally.
Passive Communications Satellite or PasComSat, also known as OV1-8, was a communications satellite launched by USAF in 1966 as part of the Orbiting Vehicle program. The satellite functioned as a reflector, not a transceiver, so that after it was placed in low earth orbit, a signal would be sent to it, reflected or bounced off its surface, and then returned to Earth.
This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2020.
Vela 2A, also known as Vela 3, Vela Hotel 3 and OPS 3662, 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.
Vela 2B was a U.S. reconnaissance satellite for detecting explosions and nuclear tests on land and in space, the first of the second pair of Vela series satellites, taken together with Vela 2A and ERS 13 satellites. The secondary task of the ship was space research.
Vela 3A was a U.S. reconnaissance satellite to detect explosions and nuclear tests on land and in space; the first of the third pair of Vela series satellites; taken together with Vela 3B and ERS 17 satellites.
Vela 3B was a U.S. reconnaissance satellite to detect explosions and nuclear tests on land and in space; the first of the third pair of Vela series satellites; taken together with Vela 3A and ERS 17 satellites.
Vela 4A was an American reconnaissance satellite to detect explosions and nuclear tests on land and in space. It was released together with Vela 4B, ORS 4, OV5 1 and OV5 3.
Vela 4B was an American reconnaissance satellite to detect explosions and nuclear tests on land and in space. It was released together with Vela 4A, ORS 4, OV5 1 and OV5 3.
Orbiting Vehicle 2-1, the first satellite of the second series of the United States Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle program, was an American life science research satellite. Its purpose was to determine the extent of the threat posed to astronauts by the Van Allen radiation belts. Launched 15 October 1965, the mission resulted in failure when the upper stage of OV2-1's Titan IIIC booster broke up.
Orbiting Vehicle 1-2, launched 5 October 1965, was the third, and first successful, satellite in the OV1 series of the United States Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle program. A radiation measuring satellite designed to conduct research for the planned Manned Orbital Laboratory project, OV1-2 was the first American spacecraft to be placed into orbit on a western trajectory. The satellite stopped functioning in April 1967 after a series of technical problems starting two months after launch.
Orbiting Vehicle 2-3, the second satellite of the second series of the United States Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle program, was an American solar astronomy. geomagnetic and particle science research satellite. Launched 22 December 1965 along with three other satellites, the mission resulted in failure when the spacecraft failed to separate from the upper stage of its Titan IIIC.
