* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

Relay 1 satellite

Blobrana · L

The Relay program was undertaken by NASA to perform active satellite communications and to measure Van Allen belt radiation and its effect on satellite electronics.
Developed by RCA for NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, Relay 1 was launched in December 1962. Radiation experiment data were obtained on the first day. That same day, difficulties with communications transponder No. 1 that caused excessive power consumption were noticed. The problem could not be fully corrected, and from January 1963 transponder No. 2 was used for almost all the communication experiments. Relay 1 operated until February 1965.
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Blobrana · L

Relay 1 was an early American experimental communications satellite funded by NASA and developed by RCA.
Relay 1 was launched atop a Delta B rocket on December 13, 1962 from LC-17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Its payload included radiation experiments designed to map the earth's radiation belts.

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