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The 22 September 1979 Vela Incident: The Detected Double-Flash
Christopher M. Wright, Lars-Erik De Geer, 2017. Science & Global Security 25(3), 95–124.
Re-examines the optical signal. The second-pulse difference between the bhangmeters resembles background modulation seen in all confirmed explosions; Vela 6911 had lost the second half of its bhangmeter records for all tests from 1972 to 1978 through a memory fault, so no like-for-like comparison existed; given the satellite's geometry, meteoroid debris would mostly travel away from the sensors. Yield estimates from the flash timing are of order 1 to 2 kt.
What it's used for here
The modern analysis of the double flash and the meteoroid alternative.
Our copy
Research copy, for editors and curators. The work is the publisher's, so readers are sent to it. We keep this copy so the citation can be checked if the page changes or goes.
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The 1979 Vela incident
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Cite it
Wright, C. M., & De Geer, L. E. (2017). The 22 September 1979 Vela Incident: The Detected Double-Flash. Science & Global Security 25(3), 95–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/08929882.2017.1394047
@article{wright2017detected,
author = {Wright, Christopher M. and De Geer, Lars-Erik},
title = {The 22 September 1979 Vela Incident: The Detected Double-Flash},
journal = {Science \& Global Security 25(3), 95–124},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1080/08929882.2017.1394047},
url = {https://scienceandglobalsecurity.org/archive/2017/11/the_22_september_1979_vela_inc.html}
}TY - JOUR TI - The 22 September 1979 Vela Incident: The Detected Double-Flash AU - Wright, Christopher M. AU - De Geer, Lars-Erik PY - 2017 JO - Science & Global Security 25(3), 95–124 DO - 10.1080/08929882.2017.1394047 UR - https://scienceandglobalsecurity.org/archive/2017/11/the_22_september_1979_vela_inc.html ER -
Wright, Christopher M. and Lars-Erik De Geer. “The 22 September 1979 Vela Incident: The Detected Double-Flash.” Science & Global Security 25(3), 95–124 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1080/08929882.2017.1394047.