TDRS_Boeing

Boeing has announced that it is on schedule to deliver the next-generation series of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) to NASA.

The next-generation data relay satellites will enable NASA to strengthen its signal processing and transmission capabilities for the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station and several unmanned scientific spacecraft in the low-Earth orbit.

Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems vice president and general manager Craig Cooning said the TDRS satellites would provide NASA with crucial cross-link communications between orbiting satellites and control and data processing facilities on Earth.

TDRS K, the first of three TDRS satellites in production, will be delivered for launch by the end of fiscal 2012 and is expected to provide increased operational effectiveness.

"TDRS K is a major step toward improving how high-resolution images, video, voice and data are transmitted," Cooning said.

The satellite has completed environmental, functional and performance tests, including vibration and acoustic, as well as final flight functional testing. It will soon undergo final integration and test at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for launch, Boeing said.

"TDRS K is a major step toward improving how high-resolution images, video, voice and data are transmitted."

The existing ground terminals have also been upgraded by Boeing and General Dynamics so that they are compatible with the TDRS K system.

Recently, the ground segment was delivered to NASA following completion of the final course of segment testing.

TDRS L, scheduled for launch in 2014, is in the final stages of space vehicle testing at the Boeing Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, California, and production of TDRS-M is expected to begin shortly.

In 2007, NASA selected Boeing to build the next-generation of TDRS communication satellites, which are a part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).

The first generation of seven TDRSS satellites were built by American conglomerate TRW, while Boeing constructed the second generation of communication satellites TDRS H, I and J, which are currently in operation.


Image: The next-generation series of TDRS will enable NASA to strengthen its signal processing and transmission capabilities. Photo: courtesy of Boeing.