Editing Relay program (section)

{{short description|1960s experimental communications satellites}}
[[File:Relay 1.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a Relay satellite]]

The '''Relay program''' consisted of Relay 1 and Relay 2, two early American [[satellite]]s in elliptical [[medium Earth orbit]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Telemetry Details|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1964-003A|access-date=2022-02-17|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>  Both were primarily experimental [[communications satellite]]s funded by [[NASA]] and developed by [[RCA]].<ref name="martin_2000">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Donald H.|title=Communications Satellites|publisher=The Aerospace Press|location=El Segundo, CA|year=2000|edition=fourth|pages=8–9|isbn=1-884989-09-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_azf94TByF8C}}</ref> As of December 2, 2016, both satellites were still in orbit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usspaceobjectsregistry.state.gov/Lists/SpaceObjects/DispForm.aspx?ID=187&source=/Pages/Search.aspx|title=Relay 2 Space Object|website=U.S. Space Objects Registry|access-date=2016-12-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203061148/https://usspaceobjectsregistry.state.gov/Lists/SpaceObjects/DispForm.aspx?ID=187&source=%2FPages%2FSearch.aspx|archive-date=2016-12-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://usspaceobjectsregistry.state.gov/Lists/SpaceObjects/DispForm.aspx?ID=120&source=/Pages/Search.aspx|title=Relay 1 Space Object|website=U.S. Space Objects Registry|access-date=2016-12-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203061058/https://usspaceobjectsregistry.state.gov/Lists/SpaceObjects/DispForm.aspx?ID=120&source=%2FPages%2FSearch.aspx|archive-date=2016-12-03}}</ref> Relay 1 provided the first American television transmissions across the Pacific Ocean.