Examination of the data gathered by satellite Vela 6911 strongly suggested that the cause of these disturbances was a nuclear device. They ultimately rejected this notion, however, since the Vela flashes had 400 times more energy and 100 times longer duration than the most intense lightning ever observed. Among these revelations were documents indicating that their first functional nuclear weapon wasn’t constructed until November 1979, two months after the Vela incident. Perhaps one day, when the redactions have receded and declassified documents are disseminated, further light will be shed on the Vela incident of 1979. Update, September 2018: Scientists have conducted a modern analysis of records of radioactivity found in the thyroids of sheep in Australia during the time of the Vela incident, and the study “removes virtually all doubt” that the Vela detection was a nuclear explosion.