How radioactive sheep exposed nuclear secret
It’s a mystery that has baffled experts for 40 years.
Just what did cause the double flash of light detected by an American satellite near the Prince Edward Islands off Antarctica? The air of secrecy and suspicion that surrounds what’s become known as the Vela Incident has only been deepened by the fact much of the information about it remains classified.
Today, most experts believe the 1979 incident, also known as the South Atlantic Flash, was caused by a nuclear explosion, most likely an undeclared nuclear test carried out jointly by South Africa and Israel.
Incredibly, this was the theory backed by the then-us President, Jimmy Carter.
Satellite Vela 5B was one of a group launched by the US to monitor Soviet compliance with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty.
It was equipped with various sensors including ones specially designed to detect the double light flashes associated with an atmospheric nuclear explosion – the initial brief, intense flash and the second longer flash.
And the characteristic double flash of a small nuclear explosion of two to three kilotons is exactly what Vela 5B reported in the early hours.
While other US monitoring systems gave inconclusive results, low levels of iodine-131, a product of nuclear fission, were detected in sheep in south-eastern Australia while the Arecibo observatory detected an “anomalous ionospheric wave”.
A National Security Council report concluded that if a test had been carried out, it should be ascribed to South Africa.
This was despite the US intelligence community being convinced Israel probably already possessed nukes, and some observers believing the flash was actually the third joint Israeli-south African test.
Some commentators think the US deliberately suppressed information and played down Tel Aviv’s involvement so as not to portray the States’ pro-israeli foreign policy in a bad light.
It has been suggested the flash was caused by an Israeli neutron bomb test, which should have gone undetected as the Israelis chose a window of opportunity during a typhoon and when they thought no active Vela satellites were observing the area. However, although Vela 5B was listed as “retired”, it was still able to receive data.
South Africa did have a nuclear programme, on which they cooperated closely with Israel.
Dieter Gerhardt, a South African naval officer and Soviet spy, claimed the flash was caused by a joint test with Israel, codenamed Operation Phoenix.
We won’t find out the truth any time soon but it’s perhaps prudent to assume Tel Aviv has nuclear weapons.