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Music

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Thirty years ago, NASA launched into a
new era of high bandwidth, continuous

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space communication with the tracking
and data relay satellite, TDRS.

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Today, NASA's continuing this legacy by
launching the next generation of

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satellites.  At Cape Canaveral,
the TDRS spacecraft sits atop an

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Atlas V rocket, ready for launch.
(Three, two, one and liftoff of the Atlas V

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rocket carrying the next generation in
tracking and data relay satellites.)

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After a four-minute burn, the Atlas V main
engine separates from the Centaur engine

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and drops back to Earth.  Shortly after
separation of the main engine, the

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protective shield that covers the
payload, called the fairing, separates to

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reveal the TDRS spacecraft.
After boosting the spacecraft to

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geosynchronous transfer orbit, the
TDRS spacecraft separates from the

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Centaur engine. Shortly after the
separation, the two folded, single axis

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antennae reflectors are released to take
their natural parabolic shape.

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With a series of engine firings, the
TDRS on board rocket guides the

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spacecraft to its final location in
geosynchronous orbit. Once arriving at

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this orbit, the spacecraft starts its
deployment sequence by unfolding the

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first solar array. Next, the two single
access antennas are deployed and locked

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into position. These antennas are
designed to track and communicate with

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low Earth orbit satellites. After the
single access antennas are secured into

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place, the second solar array starts to
unfold

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and the SGL and Omni antennas are
deployed.

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Once TDRS completes this deployment
sequence, it's now ready for testing and

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calibration before being placed into
service.

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With this addition of TDRS-M, NASA
has assured the future of continuous

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space to ground communication.

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Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep