Relay program

The first broadcast during orbit 2677 (1963-11-22, 2027:42-2048 (GMT), or 1:27 pm Dallas time) was to be a prerecorded address from the president of the United States to the Japanese people, but was instead the announcement of the John F. Kennedy assassination.

[7] In later orbits, NBC transmitted coverage of the funeral procession from the White House to the cathedral.

[8][9] In the three days following the Kennedy assassination, Relay 1 handled a total of 11 spot broadcasts; eight to Europe and three to Japan.

[10] The leakage problem caused the spacecraft to revert to a low voltage state early in 1965.

Sporadic transmission occurred until February 10, 1965, after which no usable scientific data was obtained.

Design changes in this satellite improved its performance so response to spurious commands was essentially eliminated.