Relay program

Illustration of a Relay satellite

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.

  1. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Telemetry Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  2. ^ Martin, Donald H. (2000). Communications Satellites (fourth ed.). El Segundo, CA: The Aerospace Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 1-884989-09-8.
  3. ^ "Relay 2 Space Object". U.S. Space Objects Registry. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  4. ^ "Relay 1 Space Object". U.S. Space Objects Registry. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-02.