Relay program
The Relay program consisted of Relay 1 and Relay 2, two early American satellites in elliptical medium Earth orbit.[1] Both were primarily experimental communications satellites funded by NASA and developed by RCA.[2] As of December 2, 2016, both satellites were still in orbit.[3][4] Relay 1 provided the first American television transmissions across the Pacific Ocean.
Relay 1
Relay 1 was launched atop a
In August 1964, this satellite was used as the United States-Europe link for the broadcast of the
Relay 2
Relay 2 was launched atop a
NASA ceased operations with Relay 2 on September 26, 1965, with the repurposing of the
One of the two onboard transponders operated normally until November 20, 1966. From that time until its failure on January 20, 1967, it required a longer time than normal to come on. The other transponder continued to operate until June 9, 1967, when it too failed to operate normally.
COSPAR satellite ID: Relay 2 1964-003A
See also
- List of communications satellite firsts
- Launch data:
- 1962 in spaceflight (July–December)(Relay 1)
- 1964 in spaceflight (January–June)(Relay 2)
- State funeral of John F. Kennedy
References
- ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Telemetry Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ ISBN 1-884989-09-8.
- ^ "Relay 2 Space Object". U.S. Space Objects Registry. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ^ "Relay 1 Space Object". U.S. Space Objects Registry. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ^ a b "Delta-B". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ^ "Final Report on the Relay 1 Program" (PDF). NASA-SP-76. NASA. 1966. p. 63. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ "Final Report on the Relay 1 Program" (PDF). NASA-SP-76. NASA. 1966. p. 663. Retrieved 2021-02-07. (list of actual orbit dates and times)
- ^ NBC News (1966). There Was a President. New York: Random House.
- ^ Shepard, Richard F. (November 26, 1963). "TELEVISION POOLS CAMERA COVERAGE". The New York Times. p. 11.
- ^ a b "Significant Achievements in Space Communications and Navigation, 1958-1964" (PDF). NASA-SP-93. NASA. 1966. pp. 30–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ NASA SYNCOM 3 GEOSYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE PROMO FILM 19114z, retrieved 2023-04-07
- ^ "Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1965" (PDF). NASA. pp. 449–450. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
External links
- NASA Space Science Data Center description:
- NASA FACTS PROJECT RELAY G-12-62