RELAY 2

RELAY 2 is an active satellite operated by GSFC (United States), launched on 1964-01-21 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States on the Relay B launch. After more than 62 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 1,861 km and 7,640 km with an inclination of 46.5°. It travels at approximately 21,552 km/h (5.99 km/s), completing one full orbit every 3 hours 15 minutes — that’s roughly 7.40 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.2598 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks RELAY 2 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

RELAY 2 orbits at an average altitude of 4,751 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of RELAY 2’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 4 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 46.5°, RELAY 2 passes over latitudes between 46.5°N and 46.5°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. United States operates approximately 13,276 active satellites in total.