# US satellites hunting nuke tests found first gamma-ray burst

2026-08-09T12:41:30+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet

In July 1967, US Vela 3 and Vela 4 satellites, designed to detect secret nuclear tests under the Test Ban Treaty, accidentally detected brief flashes of gamma rays from space. The discovery, published in 1973, was initially baffling, scientists could not identify the source. Over decades, observations from NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (1991) and the BeppoSAX satellite (1997) revealed that gamma-ray bursts come from billions of light-years away, linked to the deaths of massive stars forming black holes. These bursts can release in seconds energy equivalent to a supernova, with peak luminosities a billion times brighter than the brightest supernovas.

## Coverage

- timesofindia.indiatimes.com <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/in-1967-us-satellites-hunting-secret-nuclear-tests-detected-a-flash-from-deep-space-the-accidental-signal-became-the-first-observed-gamma-ray-burst/articleshow/133065014.cms>

Tags: astronomy, gamma-ray burst, NASA, nuclear test ban, space discovery, Vela satellites
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