A few hours ago the TDRS-K satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral and after a couple of hours it separated from the Centaur, the upper stage of the rocket, to enter geosynchronous orbit, where it will begin its work. The TDRS satellites are identified by a letter before becoming operational and by a number when they start working. Therefore, the TDRS-K satellite will become TDRS-11.
The TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) satellites form a network called Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) or Space Network for the communications with the International Space Station, space telescopes and probes, satellites and various other spacecraft such as in the past the Space Shuttles.
A few decades ago, especially during space missions there was the problem of the communications blackouts because a spaceship or a probe could maintain contact with the ground stations only when their trajectory allowed it. On April 4, 1983, the first TDRS satellite was launched on the Space Shuttle Challenger to extend the time in which these spacecraft are able to communicate.
The initial stages of the TDRS satellites deployement were complex: the first satellite had a fault that made it necessary an unscheduled use of its propellant to fix its orbit which limited its useful life and the second TDRS satellite got lost in the tragedy of the Challenger. In the following years, however, some other TDRS satellites were successfully placed into orbit using the Space Shuttles. The seven first-generation TDRS satellites were built by TRW.
Since 2000, the three second generation TDRS satellites built by Boeing were put into orbit, this time using Atlas rockets. In 2009, the first TDRS satellite was decommissioned and the same thing happened in 2011 with another of the first-generation satellites.
The TDRS-K satellite is the first of the third generation, still built by Boeing, launched using an Atlas V 401 rocket. Its electronic equipment have been improved over previous generations and to get them to work it’s been supplied with high performance solar-panels.
Four first-generation TDRS satellites are still working well beyond the 10 years they were designed for but they could fail at any time. For this reason, the launch of two more third-generation satellites are scheduled: TDRS-L in about a year and TDRS-M probably in 2015. With the growth of commercial space missions it’s more important than ever that the space communications network is modern and efficient.
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