---
category: U.S. Government
summary: The Nuclear Intelligence Panel (NIP) was a highly classified U.S. government
  nuclear intelligence group whose members, including Harold M. Agnew, concluded that
  the 1979 VELA satellite flash was a nuclear detonation and were dismayed by White
  House interference in their investigation.
tags:
- Organization
- Intelligence
- Nuclear
- USA
---

The Nuclear Intelligence Panel (NIP) is a highly classified nuclear intelligence group within the U.S. government. Its members, including [Harold M. Agnew](/people/harold-m-agnew/) and [Louis H. Roddis, Jr.](/people/louis-h-roddis-jr/), conducted their own investigation into the 1979 [VELA Satellite](/concepts/vela-satellite/) sighting and concluded that a low-yield nuclear weapon had most certainly been detonated. They were dismayed by the extent of White House interference in the investigation, which they believed was politically motivated to find a different explanation for the event.[^1]

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