WEBVTT FILE

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.060


2
00:00:00.060 --> 00:00:04.279
Dave Littmann, the TDRS Project Manager, here
at Goddard Space Flight Center

3
00:00:04.279 --> 00:00:08.820
responsible for the development of the
TDRS satellites.  I've been with

4
00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:12.870
TDRS, this program TDRS K, L, M, for
about ten years.

5
00:00:12.870 --> 00:00:19.439
It was put together in 2000, started 2006,
I joined 2007 and I've been with the project,

6
00:00:19.439 --> 00:00:22.650
this project, ever since. There's like a
lot of things that I could think that

7
00:00:22.650 --> 00:00:26.670
are amazing about TDRS just from what
it does in terms of how it provides

8
00:00:26.670 --> 00:00:31.740
communication from deep within the,
within the, within the universe to kind

9
00:00:31.740 --> 00:00:35.550
of take data back from the Hubble Space
Telescope and relay it back here to Earth for

10
00:00:35.550 --> 00:00:39.989
us to appreciate as well as to what it
does with communicating with our

11
00:00:39.989 --> 00:00:44.969
orbiting astronauts today. The project
was born, born here out of Goddard during

12
00:00:44.969 --> 00:00:49.110
the Apollo days the communication with
missions as well, as well as humans

13
00:00:49.110 --> 00:00:53.280
where were done with ground stations as
the vehicles orbited the Earth and you

14
00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:57.270
only had so many minutes before the
vehicle was out of, out of touch and so

15
00:00:57.270 --> 00:01:01.350
there was a vision that if we put the
capability of a ground station of ground

16
00:01:01.350 --> 00:01:06.390
capability and space to communicate with
that it could see a much wider time in

17
00:01:06.390 --> 00:01:10.409
terms of coverage for, for the missions
and we wouldn't have to kind of populate

18
00:01:10.409 --> 00:01:15.960
the Earth with all the ground stations.
The TDRS team, it's kind of amazing, I

19
00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:20.009
mean it, the whole project, you know, was
started back in the early 80's. This will

20
00:01:20.009 --> 00:01:25.650
be the 12th to 13th satellite, you
know, that now we will have launched.

21
00:01:25.650 --> 00:01:29.310
The team varies in terms of the length
of time they've had on TDRS but it,

22
00:01:29.310 --> 00:01:35.130
it grows to be a family. They're
committed, and they're dedicated, passionate you know

23
00:01:35.130 --> 00:01:39.659
they're really amazing. I guess, you know,
if you're going to sum it up in one word

24
00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:45.210
maybe phenomenal. I think phenomenal would work,
yeah, that, that probably is a good one.

25
00:01:45.210 --> 00:01:50.940
TDRS-M is ready. The entire team is
ready. It's on track, it's yeah, we're ready to

26
00:01:50.940 --> 00:01:51.640
rock.

27
00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:56.650
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep