Washington: NASA on Thursday launched a new unmanned communication satellite to stay in touch with the International Space Station astronauts and relay more Hubble telescope images.
The first of NASA’s three next-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), known as TDRS-K, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
“TDRS-K bolsters our network of satellites that provides essential communications to support space exploration,” said Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and Navigation at NASA Headquarters here.
“It will improve the overall health and longevity of our system,” Younes said in a NASA statement. The TDRS system provides tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth.
These include the International Space Station and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. “With this launch, NASA has begun the replenishment of our aging space network,” said Jeffrey Gramling, TDRS project manager. “This addition to our current fleet of seven will provide even greater capabilities to a network that has become key to enabling many of NASA’s scientific discoveries,” Gramling said. TDRS-K was lifted into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41. (PTI)
