---
category: Intelligence Concept
date: 1979-09-22
location: South Indian Ocean
summary: VELA was a U.S. nuclear detection satellite program whose September 22, 1979
  detection of two bright flashes over the South Indian Ocean produced the 'Vela Incident,'
  widely believed to be an Israeli-South African nuclear test that the U.S. government
  never officially confirmed.
tags:
- Technology
- Satellite
- Intelligence
---

VELA Satellite refers to a series of U.S. nuclear detection satellites. On September 22, 1979, a VELA satellite recorded two distinctive bright flashes of light over the South Indian Ocean, which was considered probable evidence of a nuclear explosion. VELA satellites had seen similar flashes on forty-one previous occasions, and in each case, it was subsequently determined that a nuclear explosion had taken place.[^1]

The sighting was digitally relayed to the headquarters of the [AFTAC](/organizations/air-force-technical-applications-center/). This event, suspected to be a joint Israeli-South African nuclear test, created a significant political dilemma for President [Jimmy Carter](/people/jimmy-carter/). The [Ruina](/people/jack-p-ruina/) panel, tasked with studying the VELA data, concluded that the signal was "probably not from a nuclear explosion," suggesting it might have been a "zoo event" or a meteoroid impact. However, the [NIP](/organizations/nuclear-intelligence-panel/), a highly classified nuclear intelligence group, concluded that a low-yield nuclear weapon had most certainly been detonated, and were dismayed by White House interference in the investigation.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 20.