Zombie Satellite! Defunct NASA Orbiter Emits Blazing Radio Burst After 60 Years
Relay-2 launched January 21, 1964 from Cape Canaveral as part of NASA’s Relay program to relay television and telemetry signals and study the Van Allen belts. Relay-2 operated 1964–1967, with the first transponder failing on November 20, 1966 and the second on June 9, 1967, after which it was retired. After deactivation, Relay-2 drifted in a medium Earth orbit of roughly 1,870 by 7,600 km. On June 13, 2024, ASKAP detected a radio burst lasting less than 30 nanoseconds, peaking at roughly 300,000–350,000 Jy, spanning 695–1,032 MHz. The event was traced to Relay-2 in near-Earth space using ASKAP’s near-field timing,