TDRS-6, known before launch as TDRS-F, is an American

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

, of first generation, which is operated by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

as part of the

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System The U.S. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) is a network of American communications satellites (each called a tracking and data relay satellite, TDRS) and ground stations used by NASA for space communications. The system was desig ...

. It was constructed by TRW, and is based on a custom

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-d ...

which was used for all seven first generation TDRS satellites.

History

TDRS-F was deployed from during the

STS-54 STS-54 was a NASA ''Space Transportation System'' (Space Shuttle) mission using Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. This was the third flight for ''Endeavour'', and was launched on January 13, 1993 with Endeavour returning to the Kennedy Space Center ...

mission in 1993. ''Endeavour'' was launched from

Launch Complex 39B Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) is the second of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The pad, along with Launch Complex 39A, was first designed for the Saturn V launch vehicle, w ...

at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

, at 13:59:30 UTC on 13 January 1993. TDRS-F was deployed from ''Endeavour'' around six hours after launch, and was raised to

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

by means of an

Inertial Upper Stage The Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), originally designated the Interim Upper Stage, was a two-stage, solid-fueled space launch system developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force beginning in 1976 for raising payloads from low Earth orbit to h ...

Deployment

The two-stage solid-propellent Inertial Upper Stage made two burns. The first stage burn occurred shortly after deployment from ''Endeavour'', and placed the satellite into a

geosynchronous transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step f ...

(GTO). At 02:26 UTC on 14 January 1993, it reached

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

, and the second stage fired, placing TDRS-F into

. At this point, it received its operational designation, TDRS-6.

Operation

In 1994, it was placed at a longitude 46.0° West of the

Greenwich Meridian The historic prime meridian or Greenwich meridian is a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. The modern IERS Reference Meridian widely used today ...

, to serve as an on-orbit spare. In 1996, it was moved to 47.0° West, where it remained until 2005, when it was repositioned to 174.0° West, where, , it was used to provide communications with spacecraft in Earth orbit, such as the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

(ISS) and spacecraft bringing astronauts to the ISS. Location of TDRS

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tdrs-6 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Spacecraft launched in 1993 TDRS satellites Spacecraft launched by the Space Shuttle

History

Deployment

Operation

See also

References