TDRS-10

Summary

TDRS-10, known before launch as TDRS-J, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by the Boeing Satellite Development Center, formerly Hughes Space and Communications, and is based on the BSS-601 satellite bus.[3] It was the third and final Advanced TDRS, or second-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, to be launched.

TDRS-10
TDRS-J undergoing processing before launch
Mission typeCommunication
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID2002-055A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.27566Edit this on Wikidata
Mission durationPlanned: 20 years
Elapsed: 21 years, 4 months, 4 days
Spacecraft properties
BusBSS-601
ManufacturerBoeing SDC
Launch mass3,180 kg (7,010 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date5 December 2002, 02:42 (2002-12-05UTC02:42) UTC
RocketAtlas IIA
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-36A
ContractorILS
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
Longitude153° West
151° West
~42-40° West (2004—)
Perigee altitude35,766 kilometers (22,224 mi)[2]
Apogee altitude35,798 kilometers (22,244 mi)[2]
Inclination6.09 degrees[2]
Period1435.86 minutes[2]
Epoch1 January 2004[2]
 

History edit

 
The launch of TDRS-J

The final Atlas IIA rocket was used to launch TDRS-J, under a contract with International Launch Services. The launch occurred at 02:42 UTC on 5 December 2002, from Space Launch Complex 36A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.[4] TDRS-10 separated from its carrier rocket into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. At 01:00 UTC on 14 December, following a series of apogee burns, it reached geostationary orbit.[5]

Deployment edit

TDRS-J was initially positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude 153 degrees west of the Greenwich Meridian,[6] and following on-orbit testing, it received the operational designation TDRS-10. In December 2003, it was moved to 151.5° west, arriving the next month. It remained there until June, when it departed for 42.3° west. It arrived there in November, and has since been slowly drifting eastwards. By November 2005, it was at 42° west, and in November 2006, it was recorded to have been at 41.6° west.[6] In July 2009, it was at 40.75° west.[1] In May 2020, it was at 171 degrees west.[7]

 
Location of TDRS as of 22 May 2020
 
Location of TDRS as of March 2019

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "UCS Satellite Database". Union of Concerned Scientists. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  3. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "TDRS 8, 9, 10". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  4. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  5. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Index". Geostationary Orbit Catalog. Jonathan's Space Page. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  6. ^ a b "TDRS 10". TSE. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  7. ^ "TDRS TLE Data". celestrak.org. Retrieved November 20, 2022.