Nuclear Testing
Posted: 26th September 2024
45 years ago to the day, an American satellite spotted something unusual in the Indian Ocean. A Vela satellite was in orbit near South Africa’s Prince Edward Islands, about halfway between the southern point of Africa and Antarctica, when it detected a double flash of bright light just before 1am UTC. The Vela satellites were designed to spot nuclear explosions which broke the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – signed by 126 countries in 1963 to ban all test detonations of nuclear weapons, unless carried out underground. To this day, most experts think an unauthorised nuclear test is the most likely explanation for the double flash.