Vela incident in the context of Prince Edward Islands

⭐ Core Definition: Vela incident

The Vela incident was an unidentified event, involving a double flash of light detected by an American Vela Hotel satellite on 22 September 1979 near the South African territory of Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, roughly midway between Africa and Antarctica. Most independent researchers believe that the flash was caused by a nuclear explosion — an undeclared ocean surface nuclear test of an Israeli device, carried out jointly by South Africa and Israel.

The cause of the flash remains officially unknown, and some information about the event remains classified by the United States government. While it has been suggested that the signal could have been caused by a meteoroid hitting the satellite, the previous 41 double flashes detected by the Vela satellites were caused by nuclear weapons tests. The conclusion is also supported by subsequent U.S. hydroacoustic and meteorological satellite data.

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Vela incident in the context of List of nuclear weapons tests

Nuclear weapons testing is the act of experimentally and deliberately firing one or more nuclear devices in a controlled manner pursuant to a military, scientific or technological goal. This has been done on test sites on land or waters owned, controlled or leased from the owners by one of the eight nuclear nations: the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea, or has been done on or over ocean sites far from territorial waters. There have been 2,121 tests done since the first in July 1945, involving 2,476 nuclear devices. As of 1993, worldwide, 520 atmospheric nuclear explosions (including eight underwater) have been conducted with a total yield of 545 megatons (Mt): 217 Mt from pure fission and 328 Mt from bombs using fusion, while the estimated number of underground nuclear tests conducted in the period from 1957 to 1992 is 1,352 explosions with a total yield of 90 Mt. As a result of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, there were no declared tests between the 1998 Pakistani Chagai-II and the 2006 North Korean test, and none outside North Korea to date.

Very few unknown tests are suspected at this time, the Vela incident being the most prominent. Israel is the only country suspected of having nuclear weapons but not confirmed to have ever tested any.

View the full Wikipedia page for List of nuclear weapons tests

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