During the Cold War, many people were scared of the threat of nuclear annihilation. After all, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were still fresh in countless minds. To prevent a repeat of such events, numerous countries signed a treaty to ban nuclear tests. However, a treaty is all but worthless unless you can enforce it — or at least know when somebody breaks it.
The Vela program was founded for the express purpose of ensuring countries adhered to the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty. To achieve this, the U.S. launched multiple satellites equipped with X-ray, neutron, and gamma-ray detectors. To ensure maximum coverage, Vela satellites were launched in pairs and orbited around the Earth at opposite points. The first successful Vela satellites were launched in May of 1969.
While the Vela satellites were largely considered a success, they were prone to false positives. In 1972, a massive solar storm confused the satellites, and in 1978, they recorded a mysterious phenomenon that created a large, audible boom over Bell Island, Canada. Fittingly called the Bell Island Boom, many believe this event was caused by a rare and powerful lightning bolt known as a superbolt, not a nuclear explosion. However, in 1979, a Vela satellite also recorded a double flash of light near the Prince Edward Islands, which lie south of South Africa. Several decades after this event, which became known as the Vela Incident, declassified documents confirmed that a surprise joint atomic test carried out by Israel and South Africa caused the explosion.
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