TDRS is ready for launch

[KSC-00PP-0821]

  • Photo Number: KSC-00PP-0821

  • Release Date: 30-Jun-2000

    • Description: In the early morning hours on Launch Pad 36A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the tower rolls back from NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-H) before liftoff atop an Atlas IIA/Centaur rocket. One of three satellites (labeled H, I and J) being built by the Hughes Space and Communications Company, the latest TDRS uses an innovative springback antenna design. A pair of 15-foot- diameter, flexible mesh antenna reflectors fold up for launch, then spring back into their original cupped circular shape on orbit. The new satellites will augment the TDRS system's existing S- and Ku-band frequencies by adding Ka-band capability. TDRS will serve as the sole means of continuous, high-data-rate communication with the Space Shuttle, with the International Space Station upon its completion, and with dozens of unmanned scientific satellites in low earth orbit.

    Resolution Format Width
    (Pixels)    		 Height
    (Pixels)    		 Size
    (Bytes)
    Thumbnail GIF 66 100 10072
    Slide GIF 110 156 24880
    Low GIF 157 240 54063
    Medium JPEG 504 768 107671
    High JPEG 1752 2670 865875

    Point of Contact

    Name: NASA Kennedy Space Center

    Address:

    KSC Public Affairs Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899

    NIX Search KSC Search

    DISCLAIMER: No copyright protection is asserted for these photographs. If a recognizable person appears in this photograph, use for commercial purposes may infringe a right of privacy or publicity. It may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by NASA of a commercial product. (See NASA Copyright Notice)

    Photos By: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Scanned By: Seven/Still Photo Imaging
    Captions: InDyne, Inc.
    Curator: NASA/KSC Internet Systems Lab (Dumoulin, Downs, Paladino)
    Last Updated: Tuesday August 28 18:52:29 EDT 2001 (Anita Barrett)

    A service of the NASA Image Exchange (NIX)