The secondary task of the ship was space research (X-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, magnetic field and charged particles).

The satellite was rotationally stabilized (2 rps).

The ship could work in real time mode (one data frame per second) or in data recording mode (one frame every 256 seconds).

The second one was used until the next pair of Vela satellites were launched.

This article about one or more spacecraft of the United States is a stub.