Relay Press Kit

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NE WS RELEASEA - NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

400 MARYLAND AVENUE, SW, WASHINGTON 25, D C.

TELEPHONES WORTH 2-4155-WORTH 3- 1110

FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY A.M,

December 11, 1962

RELEASE NOW 62-258

NASA TO LAUNCH RELAY EXPERIMENTAL SATELLITE

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is

scheduled to launch the first Project Relay experimental

communications satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida, no

earlier than December 13. Relay will be the first space com-

munication experiment to link three continents -- NorthAmerica,

Europe and South America.

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2

Objectives of Project Relay are to test intercontinental

microwave communications by low-altitude active repeater

satellites, measure energy levels of space radiation in the

orbital path and determine the extent of radiation damage

to solar cells and electronic components. A second Relay

satellite will be launched next year. Information obtained

from the Relay experiments will contribute, ultimately, to

development of a future operational satellite system for world-

wide communication.

A Delta rocket will boost the 172 pound Relay space-

craft into an elliptical orbit, inclined 47 degrees to the

equator, ranging in altitudes from approximately 800 to 4,500

statute miles. Period of orbit is 3 hours and 4 minutes.

Relay has the capacity of transmitting one-way wide-

band communications (television, 300 one-way voice channels

or highspeed data) or two-way narrowband communications (12

two-way telephone conversations, or teletype, photofacsimile,

and data), Wideband frequencies used are 1725 MC, (ground

to satellite), and 4170 MC (satellite to ground).

Television, two-way telephone, teletype and data experi-

ments will be conducted between the United States and Europe

from the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. ground station

at Andover, Maine, USA, the British General Post Office at

Goonhilly, England, and the French National Center for Tele-

communication Lstudies station at Pleumeur-Bodou, France.



3

Two-way telephone, teletype and data experiments be-

tween the United States and Brazil will be conducted from

the International Telephone and Telegraph Co. station at

Nutley, New Jersey, USA, and one near Rio de Janiero operated

by Radio Internacional de Brazil by authority of the Brazilian

Department of Posts and Telegraphs.

One-way voice and teletype tests will be received from

the U.S. and Brazil at Fucino, Italy, about 50 miles north-

east of Rome. Telespazio is the cooperating organization

in Italy.

Relay will be launched during the evening hours.

During its first four orbits the spacecraft will receive maxi-

mum exposure to sunlight in order for the solar cells, by

converting solar energy to electrical energy, will fully

charge the spacecraft's storage batteries before it is used

for transmitting communication signals.

If a nominal orbit is achieved Relay will pass within

range of a NASA test station, also located at Nutley, N. J.,

during its fifth orbit. This should occur about 13- hours

after launch. The test station will command the satellite

and check its systems to determine if it is operating properly.

If it is functioning normally communications tests will be

undertaken by a pair of ground stations.

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5

THE RELAY SPACECRAFT AND SYSTEMS OPERATION

The 172-pound Relay spacecraft is an eight-sided prism which

tapers at one end. It is 33 inches high and about 29 inches in

diameter at its broad end. The 18 inch long wideband communica-

tionsantenna extends from the narrow end of the body, giving it

a total height of 51 inches. Four whip-.like telemetry antenna

extended from the broad end of the satellite at about 45 degree

angles.

Relay's shape was selected to permit use of the Delta vehicle's

low-drag fairing. The components are attached to a fabricated

aluminum frame or chassis or to tubularrings which encircle the

top and bottom of the chassis. The exterior, composed of eight

honeycomb aluminum panels studed with 8,215 solar cells, is attached

to the chassis rings and gives Relay its 8 sided shape. The solar

cells, covering the outer entire surface, except the top and

bottom of the structure, will provide power to three nickel-cadmium

storage batteries containing 20 cells each. The average requirement

from the solar cells to maintain sufficient power for spacecraft

operations is 45 watts. The P-on-N silicon solar cells are shielded

by a quartz coating 0.060 inches thick to prevent excessive radia-

tion damage encountered in the space environment.

For reliability, Relay will carry two identical transponders.

In the event one should fail, the other can carry out the communi-

cations tests. Under normal operating procedures, selection of the

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transponder to be used during a test will be made by ground com-

mand from the test station. The traveling wave tube, especially

designed for Relay by RCA uses a platinum-cobalt magnet and has

an overall efficiency of 21%. Each of the Relay transponders can

handle wideband one-way signals, such as television, or two-way

telephone traffic and other narrowband signals.

Wideband signals are recieved from the ground stations at

a frequency of 1727 MC and transmitted by the satellite to the

grounds at 4170 MC.

Two-way telephone and other narrow band traffic are trans-

mitted on the following frequencies:

Ground to satellite: 1726.6 MC West-East and North-SouthSatellite to ground: 4165 MC West-East and North-SouthGround to satellite: 1723.3 MC East-West and South-NorthSatellite to ground: 4175 MC East-West and South-North

The most complex electronic system carried in Relay is the

telemetry and command equipment. It consists of an antenna, two

command receivers, two subcarrier demodulators, two command de-

coders, two telemetry transmitters, one command control unit, and

one telemetry encoder. The duplicate units are to insure relia-

bility of the system's operation.

The Command System has 20 command channels which control op-

eration of the communication transponders, and telemetry system.

Each command is repeated five times, providing further redundancy.

The signals are received, demodulated, decoded, and applied to the

command control uni which performs the switching function desired

and initiates a verification signal to be telemetered back to the

ground station.

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7The Relay telemetry encoder is the most complicated single

element in the entire spacecraft. It encodes data from sensors

within the satellite and transmits to the ground through 128

channels at the rate of one channel per second. The encoder

comprises 5,186 parts, including 581 transistors and 1,378

diodes. It weighs one pound.

Relay will be spin stabilized at 150 rpm. A sun aspect in-

dicator and horizon scanner provide telemetry~dat.t about the sate-

llite's orientation. The spin axis is adjusted by a ground signal

which activates a coil within the spacecraft. This, in turn, reacts

with the earth's magnetic field and provides the torque required

to properly orient the satellite.

The temperature within Relay is controlled by a shutter sys-

tem of aluminized mylar vanes at its broad end. When the vanes

are closed, the temperature is at the proper level. To dissipate

excessive heat, a bellows controlled by a temperature-sensitive

fluid opens the shutter vanes. Temperature within the satellite

is expected to vary from 5 to 25 degrees Centigrade.

The Minitrack network stations track Relay's 136 MC beacon

which operates continually and transmit data to the Goddard SFC

for scientists to compute the orbital elements. This orbital in-

formation is the basis for determining Relay's "look angles" which

is necessary for the ground station antennas to acquire Relay for

conducting the communication experiments.

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8

Just before Relay is mutually visible between ground sta-

'ions, the NASA test station will pick up the tracking beacon

and exercise commands for obtaining telemetry on its operating

condition. If the systems are in good condition, the test sta-

tion then sends another command to turn one of the communications

transponders and set the mode for wideband or narrowband trans-

missions. Test station operations require about 5 to 10 minutes.

Turning on the transponder also activates a 4080 MC beacon

by which the ground station antenna acquires Relay. After the

ground acquires Relay and preparesits ground equipment the pro-

grammed communication tests are carried.

When the tests between ground stations are completed the

NASA test station sends a command to Relay which turns off the

transponder in order to conserve the power supply. However,

should the satellite pass over the horizon before the cut-off

signal is received, an automatic timer turns offthe equipment

two minutes after it is used. Relay's power supply is designed

to permit communication tests for not more than 100 minutes each

day.

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9

RELAY TESTS, DEMONSTRATIONS AND OPERATIONS

Although public demonstrations of television, telephone

calls, teletypephoto facsimile, and high speed data will

be transmitted via Relay, most of the orbits will be used

for technical experiments.

Communications engineers and scientists consider the

experiments to be in two broad categories, subjective tests

and objective tests. Subjective tests include one-way trans-

mission of television pictures and test patterns, and two-way

transmission of multiplexed telephone traffic.

Objective tests, which furnish the quantitatiW: data

most needed for system evaluation, include measurements of

received carrier power, baseband noise, baseband transmission

flatness, intermodulation distortion, envelope delay distor-

tion, and effects of Doppler snift on baseband signals.

In addition to these tests, information on antenna

pointing accuracy and effects of time lag on signals are

expected to answer important questions which differ between

a ground-based microwave communication system arn one moving

through space at approximately 17,000 miles per hour and

as high as 4,500 miles above the earth.

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10

Public demonstrations will be scheduled only after it

is determined that Relay is operating properly. The various

types of transmissions will demonstrate the satellite's coit

munications capabilities and be of international interest.

Because Project Relay is a scientific and technical experi-

ment, commercial communications and/or business transactions

cannot be transmitted via the satellite.

If Relay is launched on the currently scheduled data,

and if the spacecraft operates properly, it is anticipated

that a live television program will be transmitted between

the United States and Europe within a few days. The

three American television networks (National Broadcasting

Company, American Broadcasting Company and Columbia Broad-

casting System) will transmit jointly from the United States

to Europe for about 15 minutes. During the same orbit the

European Broadcasting Union, whose membership includes all

of the broadcasting organizations of western Europe, will

transmit from Europe to the United States for an equal period

of time.

All demonstrations transmitted from the United States

will be coordinated by the Relay Demonstration Committee whose

members are representatives of the U.S. Information Agency,

NASA, the Department of State and the Federal Communications

Commission. Schedueling of demonstrations is subject to

technical decisions of the Relay Project Office of the NASA

Goddard Space Flight Center, and prior approval of the over-

seas ground station which is participating in the transmission.



The command post for the Relay operations is the Com-

munications Spacecraft Operations Center (COMSOC) located

at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

COMSOC will be manned by personnel ofMinitrack Network

Operations Control Branch and Communications Satellite Branch

under the direction of the Goddard Relay Project Office.

Around-the-clock teletype service connects COMSOC

with the Relay test stations and communications ground st.a-

tions.

All Minitrack stations are already on a 24-hour tele-

type circuit with the Goddard Space Flight Center.

The Relay Project Office will monitor the status of

all Relay operations, including results of communications

tests and telemetry data from the spacecraft, from COMSOC.

Future testing schedules and operating plans will be issued

to participants through COMSOC.

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RELAY'S RADIATION EXPERIMENTS 12

A knowledge of the hazards of radiation to a communications

spacecraft will be vital co the designers of the eventual opera-

tional satellite system.

Relay carries experiments from which scientists may learn

the degree of damage that radiation may inflict on spacecraft

components.

The experiments will measure the amount of damage to solar

cells and diodes in radiation belts,

Solar Cell Damage Experiment - Thirty mounted solar cells

on the surface of the spacecraft will be tested. Nine of these

are N-on-P (negative-on-positive)0 which show apparent high re-

sistance to radiation, Nine others are P-on-ND which show lower

resistance to radiation. Another sez of nine cells are specially

prepared to be susceptible to radiation damage. The above are

silicon cells, The remaining three aie made of gallium arsenide,

a material potentially resistant to radiation.

rot only are cells to be tested of different materials; they

also are covered with different thicknesses of shielding (30-60

mils) to determine the best protection for weight ratio. Some

are unprotected.

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Bell Telephone Laboratories and the State University of Iowa

developed and built the apparatus for this experiment.

The State University of Iowa's apparatus is designed to mea-

sure protons in these energies, electrons of 0.5 to 1.2 mev; pro-

tons of 35 to 300 mev, of 1 to 8.1 mev and 15 to 60 mev.

The BTL apparatus will measure electrons of 0.25 to 1 mev and

protons of 2.5 to 25 mev.

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!6American Telephone and Telegraph Company, was launched by NASA on

July 10, 1962 These stations will conduct similar tests and demo-

onstrations for NASA via Relay.

The Relay launch will bring three additional stations into the

international program. The International Telephone and Telegraph

Company station at Nutley, New Jersey, and one located near Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, which is operated by Radio Internacional do Brazil

by authority of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, will be the

first US.-South American link for communication satellite testing.

The third new participant will be the Telespazio facility at Fucino,

Italy, about 50 miles northeast of Rome,

The AT&T antenna is a huge 3,7600 square-foot horn which ro-

tates on a 70-foot diameter wheel, and is housed in a plastic radome

210 feet in diameter and 161 feet high. A maser and FM feedback

receiver provide amplification of received wideband sigrals at 4170

MC frequency, The Relay transmitter, supplied by NASA, operates at

1725 MC frequency and has a power output of 10 kilowatts.

The French station. operated by CNEF0 is almost identical to

the AT&T station at Andover and is equipped to conduct television,

voice and data experiments,

The British station at Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall, is equipped

with a steerable parabolic antenna, approximately 85 feet in diam-

eter, and a maser amplifier. It is also equipped to transmit and

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17,ceive television and still pictures using British, European and

American line standards, as well as telephone and data communica-

tions. The site was selected to obtain maximum periods of mutual

visibility via satellites to the United States and to be remote

from radio interference. It is operated by the General Post Of-

f.ce of the United Kingdom.

Telespazio, the Italian research organization for communica-

tion satellites, plans to construct a large facility at Fucino.

However, the organization will participate with an interim station

this year by receiving voice signals from the satellite with a 30-

foot parabolic antenna.

The Deutsche Bundesport (Post Office of the Federal Republic

of Germany) has awarded contracts for construction of a station

near Raisting. about 30 miles south of Munich. The wideband an-

tenna will be a 85-foot diameter parabolic dish with a feed simi-

lar to that usedin

th e Andover horn. Performance will be similar

to the existing stations at Andover, Maine and Pleumeur-Bodou,

France. It is scheduled to be in operation late in 1963, but will

be equipped to only receive from Relay. It will not transmit to

Relays

The International Telephone and Telegraph Company, station is

located at Nutley, New Jersey, nine miles west of New York City.

it will conduct Relay tests with a mobile ground station in Brazil,

4820 miles away.

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18The ITT fixed station employs a 40-fcot "dish" antenna and

support equipment housed in two igloo-type structures at the foot

of the antenna tower. This complex includes a 10-kilowatt trans-

mitter, tracking and communications receivers, antenna controls,

monitoring consoles, and control equipment.

The Rio station, designed and constructed by ITT Federal Lab-

oratories and to be operated by Companhia Radio Internacional do

Brazil (Radional) by authority of the Brazilian Government, has a

capacity for 12 simultaneous two-way telephone conversations. The

station can handle 12 simultaneous teleprinter or high-speed data

circuits per voice channel, or 144 total circuits for these pur-

poses when voice is not being transmitted.

This mobile station travels in a van and three trailers which

can be shipped by sea, air, rail or road to any remote destination.

Included in this package is a 30hfoot Edish' antenna which can be

dismantled into pie-shaped sections, and an antenna support tower

which resembles an old-time locomotive when readied for shipment.

In practice runs, four men have assembled the terminal in as little

as 16 hours.

Japan is constructing communication satellite ground facilities

to participate in future experiments. The station will be located

about 90 miles north of Tokyo.

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19NASA has negotiated contractual agreements with the American

Telephone and Telegraph Company and the International Telephone and

Telegraph Company to conduct the RELAY communications tests at their

facilities in the United States.

Technical requirements and plans for conducting the experiments

and demonstrations are coordinated by a Ground Station Committee.

The Chairman is Leonard Jaffe, Director of Communication Systems,

NASA Headquarters. Daniel Mazur of the NASA Goddard Space Flight

Center is alternate Chairman. Members are: Captain C. F. Booth,

General Post Office, United Kingdom; R. Sueur, National Center fo r

Telecommunications Studies, Francel Ernst 00 Dietrich, West German

Post Office; Lt. Col. G. Bandeira de Mello, Department of Posts and

kLlegraph, Brazil; Dr. P. Fanti, Telespazio, Italy; E. F. O0 Neill,

Bell Telephone Laboratories; R. E. Sageman, American Telephone and

Telegraph Company; Louis Pollack, International Telephone and Tele-

graph Company; Charles P. Smith, and Joseph Berliner, NASA Goddard

Space Flight Center. Japan will appoint a member to serve on the

Committee.

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20

NASA TEST STATIONS

Test stations are located at Nutley, N. J. and MoJave,

California, will carry out the following functions before communi-

cations tests are conducted:

Determine spacecraft operating conditionby real time telem-

etry readout.

Test the performance of the wideband communications system

before it is used by the Relay ground communications stations.

Provide command control for the spacecraft communication

transponders.

The Nutley station, located on the grounds of IT&T Federal

Laboratories, adjoins the ITT Relay ground station of the U.S.-

Brazil link and will employ the stations 40-foot azimuth-elevation

parabolic antenna to carry out test functions.

Mojave was chosen because of its location -- a continent width

away -- and because it was logistically advantageous to have it

near the Mojave Minitrack station. A 40-foot X-Y parabolic antenna

has been erected at Mojave. Because this station may not be in

operation when Relay is launched, it is planned that the Nutley

station will conduct loop (back-to-back) tests to check'the satel-

lite.

Except for the antennas (both 40-foot command-telemetry and

yagi antennas), the test equipment at both stations is installed

in portable vans.

Equipment consists of the antennas, wideband transmitter

subsystems, wideband receiver subsystems, and baseband test equip-

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21

Tracking can be done in three ways: manual; programmed

steering, in which the antenna is steered by means of a pro-

grammed signal; and autotrack, in which the antenna is driven

automatically in response to an error signal from the tracking

receiver. The programmed steering capability will not be avail-

able at Nutley' or the launch.

The test station command system, necessarily compatible with

the Minitrack network, consists of a VHF single yagi on the 9-ele-

ment command-telemetry antenna assembly, a VHF transmitter, and a

command encoder. The command system can sequence and control the

spacecraft systems as needed for the wideband experiments, the

-adiation experiments, and the telemetry and tracking subsystems.

The telemetry subsystem, also compatible with the Minitrack

system, consists of a steerable 8 yagi antenna assembly on the

9-element command-telemetry antenna, receivers, a decommutator

to sequence and prepare the telemetry data for monitors and

recorders, plus strip chart and tape recorders,

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THE DELTA LAUNCH VEHICLE 22

The Delta launch vehicle, considered the nations most J

reliable space booster, will be used to launch the first

Relay active communications satellite. It will mark the

15th time that the NASA-developed three-stage Delta has

been used for a satellite launching. Douglas Aircraft Co.

is prime contractor for the vehicle.

Delta's record to date includes 13 successes in its

last 13 tries, and more than a ton of satellites placed

in orbit. Only on its maiden launch attempt, in May 1960,

did Delta fail to perform as planned.

Delta Number 15, as the Relay launch vehicle is

called, will employ for the first time a modified second

stage. This change -- along with an earlier switch to a

higher thrust Thor first stage (DM-21) on Delta 13 -- is

part of a continuing NASA program to take advantage of

state of the art developments which will enhance the rocket's

utility.

Although the second stageAerojet General engine

remains unchanged, its liquid propellant tanks have been

extended by three feet. This increased tank capacity

will extend the burning time of the 7,500-pound-thrust

engine from its earlier 109 seconds to approximately 160

seconds. Coupled with the DM-21 Thor first stage which

generates 170,000 pounds thrust (up from 150,000), the

Delta will now be able to orbit payloads weighing up to

800 pounds against its initial capability of about 500 pounds.

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23In addition to lengthening the second stage, a lighter,

up-dated version of the Bell Telephone Laboratories 300

radio guidance system, known as the BTL 600 system, will be

used for the first time in the Delta program. Use of the

new system results in a weight saving of about 125 pounds.

The Delta third stage, with its ABL X-248 engine,

manufactured by the Naval-Propellant Plant, Indian Head, Md.,

is unchanged.

Except for the increased burning time of the second

stage, the firing sequence f5cr the 112,000-pound, 87-foot

rocket is essentially the same as during earlier flights.

The coast period for the Relay satellite -- initiated after

second stage burn-out -- is 15 minutes.

The Delta vehicle, has the following characteristics:

Hleight: 87 feet

Max. Diameter: 8 feet

Lift-off Weight: 112,000 pounds

First Stage (Douglas DM-21 Thor):

Fuel: Liquid (LOX and Kerosene)

Thrust: About 170,000 pounds

Burning Time: 160 seconds

Second Stage (Aerojet General propulsion system):

Fuel: Liquid


Burning Time: 160 seconds

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24Third Stage (Allegany Ballistics Laboratory X-248 solid

motor):

Fuel: Solid


Burning Time: 40 seconds (After 15minutecoast)

Guidance System (Bell Telephone Laboratories)

Firing Sequence:

The first stage falls away on burnout. The second

stage ignites immediately. The nose fairing which covers

third stage and payload is jettisorned during second stage

burning. The second and third stages coast for 15 minutes

after second stage burnout. Then, the third stage is spin

stabilized, and the second stage falls away, and the third

stage is ignited. The third stage reaches an orbital

velocity of almost 17,000 miles per hour.

Project management of the Delta program is charged to

the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

The unprecedented 13 in-a-row Delta launch record

includes;

(1) Echo I, passive communications satellite,August 12, 1960

(2) TIROS II, meteorological satellite,November 23, 1960

(3) Explorer X, scientific satellite,March 25, 1961

(4) TIROS III, July 12, 1961

(5) Explorer XII, scientific satellite,August 16, 1961.

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25

( (6}) TIROS IV , February 8, 1962

(7) Orbiting Solar Observatory,March 7, 1962

() Ariel (A joint NASA-United Kingdom ionosphericexperiment), March 7, 1962

(9) TIROS V, June 19, 1962

(10) Telstar, active communications satellite,July 1C, 1962

(11) TIROS VI, September 18, 1952

(12) Explorer XIV, scientific satellite,October 2, 1962

(13) Explorer XV, scientific satellite,October 27, 1962

Future Delta assignments include the second Relay,

Syncom - a 24-hour orbit active repeater coimmunication

satellite, Tiros, Orbiting Solar Observatory, Atmospheric

Structure Satelli te, and t.he Inter-planetary iionitoring

Probe.

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Radiation at Stanford (High-power ground transmittersat U.S. ground stations and test stations)

State University of Iowa (Radiation Monitors)

Western Electric-Bell Telephone Laboratories (Radia-tion Monitors and Data Analysis)

University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, Cali-fornia, (Data Analysis of radiation experiment)

- end

Relay Press Kit

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