NASA is ready to launch the third advanced Tracking and
\nData Relay Satellites, named TDRS-J, which will have the
\nability to transfer data 5,000 times faster than a
\ncomputer’s 56K modem, transmit near real-time audio and
\nhigh-resolution digital video from Earth-orbiting spacecraft
\nand provide tracking services for expendable launch
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
\nTDRS-J is scheduled to launch Dec. 4 aboard an Atlas IIA
\nrocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at the
\nbeginning of a 40-minute launch window, which opens at 9:42
\np.m. EST.<\/p>\n
The new trio of satellites joins forces with the original
\nTDRS constellation to support the Space Shuttle,
\nInternational Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and a
\nhost of other Earth-orbiting spacecraft.<\/p>\n
“This state-of-the-art communications system will support
\nNASA’s mission by providing a communications backbone for
\nastronauts aboard the Shuttle and Space Station, as well as
\nrelay vital data from several Earth and space science
\nmissions,” said Robert Jenkens Jr., TDRS Project Manager at
\nNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<\/p>\n
TDRS-J features the following capabilities:<\/p>\n
* S-band Single Access: Two 15-foot diameter steerable
\nantennas, used at the 2.0 to 2.3 GHz (gigahertz) band,
\nsupply robust communications to user satellites with smaller
\nantennas and receive telemetry from expendable launch
\nvehicles during launch.<\/p>\n
* Ku-band Single Access: The same two antennas, operating
\nfrom 13.7 to 15.0 GHz, provide higher bandwidth for user
\nsatellites, provide high-resolution digital television for
\nSpace Shuttle video communications and can quickly transfer
\nlarge volumes of data from tape or solid-state data
\nrecorders aboard NASA scientific spacecraft.<\/p>\n
* Ka-band Single Access: This new higher-frequency service,
\nwhich operates from 22.5 to 27.5 Gigahertz and increases
\ndata rate capabilities to 800 megabits per second, will
\nprovide communications for future missions requiring higher
\nbandwidths such as multi-spectral instruments for Earth
\nscience applications.<\/p>\n
* Multiple Access: This system is capable of receiving
\nsignals from five user spacecraft simultaneously at rates up
\nto 3 megabits per second, while transmitting to a single
\nuser at up to 300 kilobits per second. The system operates
\nusing a phased-array antenna in the 2.0 to 2.3 GHz range.<\/p>\n
For two weeks following the launch, transfer orbit
\noperations will boost the 7,039-pound (3,196-kilogram)
\nsatellite into a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the
\nEarth’s equator. Upon completion of on-orbit testing and
\nacceptance, TDRS-J will be renamed TDRS-10.<\/p>\n
Fully deployed, the satellite measures approximately 69 feet
\nlong (21 meters) by 43 feet (13 meters) wide. The
\nsatellite’s silicon celled solar arrays will generate 2,300
\nwatts of on-orbit power and a nickel-hydrogen battery will
\nsupply power during solar eclipses.<\/p>\n
The TDRS replenishment program cost approximately $800
\nmillion and includes three satellites, expendable launch
\nvehicles, upgrades to the White Sands Complex in Las Cruces,
\nN.M., and NASA program costs. Boeing Satellite Systems, El
\nSegundo, Calif., designed, built and tested TDRS-H, I and J
\nfor NASA under a fixed-price contract.<\/p>\n
Additional information about TDRS is available on the
\nInternet at:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/tdrs.gsfc.nasa.gov\/Tdrsproject\/<\/p>\n
http:\/\/nmsp.gsfc.nasa.gov\/tdrss\/tdrsshome.html<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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