 | Relay
Credit - NASA
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Class: Technology. Type: Communications. Destination: Medium Earth Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Relay was a communications satellite of the active repeater type, in which signals from one ground station were picked up and rebroadcast to another station by the satellite's internal equipment. A NASA project, Relay was a 78 kg, spin-stabilized spacecraft boosted by a Delta launch vehicle. The first Relay satellite was launched December 13, 1962, and it remained operational for more than 2 years. Relay 2, launched January 21, 1964, was used in thousands of tests and experiments and in some 40 public demonstrations through September 1965.
Typical orbit: 1640 km x 7490 km at 47 degrees inclination. Mass: 78 kg (171 lb).
Relay Chronology - 1962 December 13 - Relay 1 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC17A. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 78 kg (171 lb). Perigee: 1,319 km (819 mi). Apogee: 7,440 km (4,620 mi). Inclination: 47.50 deg. Period: 185.10 min.
Communications satellite technology tests. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).
- 1964 January 21 - Relay 2 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC17B. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 78 kg (171 lb). Perigee: 1,961 km (1,218 mi). Apogee: 7,540 km (4,680 mi). Inclination: 46.40 deg. Period: 194.70 min.
Experimental commsat. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).
Bibliography:- McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
- JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
- Aerospace Yearbook, 1966,
- NASA Report, Relay I Program Final Report, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660000937_1966000937.pdf.
- NASA Report, Project Relay Communication Performance Interim Report No. 1, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660082542_1966082542.pdf.
- NASA Report, Operations with an Experimental Satellite, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630007327_1963007327.pdf.
- NASA Report, The Relay I Radiation Effects Experiment, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660030609_1966030609.pdf.
- NASA Report, Project Relay - Quality Control Procedures and Flow Charts, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670081407_1967081407.pdf.
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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.
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