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Have you ever wondered how data and communication signals become from spacecraft to NASA mission control on Earth? It's not as simple as pointing an antenna at NASA and hitting "send." World rotates, and so you might not always have direct line of sight to mission control. That's why NASA started deploying a fleet of Space Network satellites in the 1980s. It'southward now into the third generation of these satellites, and a new ane has but headed into space where it will relay data from the International Infinite Station and Hubble Space Telescope. It may exist the concluding one, though.

NASA launched the first Tracking and Information Relay Satellite (TDRS) in 1983 aboard a Space Shuttle. That was TDRS-A (renamed to TDRS-1 in orbit), and nosotros're now up to TDRS-G. NASA continued sending the TDRS satellites up aboard shuttles until the early 2000s when the program switched to much cheaper Atlas rockets. That's also when the second-generation TDRS satellites were deployed with vastly improved capabilities similar tri-band communications and autonomous anomaly recovery.

TDRS-M is part of the third-generation TDRS armada — when it officially enters performance, information technology will exist renamed TDRS-13. It was launched early August 18th aboard an Atlas V rocket operated by United Launch Brotherhood. The satellite is heading upwards to a geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers), assuasive NASA to enhance the network coverage.

Third generation TDRS satellites are more often than not the same as the second-gen that began launching in the early 2000s. The one notable difference is support for multiple-access beamforming on the ground. This is similar to technology in Wi-Fi routers that focus signals where they are needed to increment throughput. All satellites in the TDRS network axle signals downward to a number of tracking stations on the surface in places like Guam and the South Pole.

In that location are currently four functional outset-gen TDRS satellites, but 2 other satellites were retired several years ago and de-orbited. There was besides a TDRS satellite aboard the Challenger Shuttle when it exploded during liftoff. All three satellites from the 2nd generation are still operational, and at present at that place are three third-gen satellites. That works out to x total TDRS satellites in operation. Or rather, it will be 10 once TDRS-Thousand is fully online and becomes TDRS-13.

NASA says this satellite will be vital to the future of its space communications. Even if no new satellites are launched, TDRS-Yard should go on the space network operational through at to the lowest degree the mid-2020s. TDRS-M is the terminal third-gen satellite planned, and the agency may not have to launch more than. The hope is commercial space communication networks will be online past the time the TDRS is retired.