Photo: Mike Killian
Photo: Mike Killian
NASA launches third generation
communications satellite
NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite L (TDRS-L), the
12th spacecraft in the agency’s TDRS Project, is safely in orbit after launching January 23 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
in Florida.
Ground controllers report the satellite – part of a network
providing high-data-rate communications to the International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope, launch vehicles
and a host of other spacecraft – is in good health at the
start of a three-month checkout by its manufacturer, Boeing
Space and Intelligence Systems of El Segundo, Calif.
“TDRS-L and the entire TDRS fleet provide a vital service to
America’s space program by supporting missions that range
from Earth-observation to deep space discoveries,” said
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
The mission of the TDRS Project, established in 1973, is to
support NASA’s space communications network. This network provides high data-rate communications.
The TDRS fleet began operating during the space shuttle
era with the launch of TDRS-1 in 1983. Of the 11 TDRS spacecraft placed in service to date, eight still are operational.
TDRS-M, the next spacecraft in this series, is on track to be
ready for launch in late 2015.