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TDRS-11

American communications satellite

TDRS-11

TDRS-K before launch
Mission type	Communications
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	2013-004A
SATCAT no.	39070
Mission duration	Planned: 15 years Elapsed: 11 years, 5 months, 12 days
Spacecraft properties
Bus	BSS-601HP
Manufacturer	Boeing
Launch mass	3,454 kilograms (7,615 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	31 January 2013, 01:48 (2013-01-31UTC01:48) UTC[2]
Rocket	Atlas V 401 AV-036
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geosynchronous orbit
Perigee altitude	35,755 kilometers (22,217 mi)[3]
Apogee altitude	35,826 kilometers (22,261 mi)[3]
Inclination	6.39 degrees[3]
Period	1436.00 minutes[3]
Epoch	20 January 2015, 13:09:06 UTC[3]

TDRS-11, known before launch as TDRS-K, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. The eleventh Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is the first third-generation spacecraft.^[4]

TDRS-11 was constructed by Boeing, and is based on the BSS-601HP satellite bus. Fully fuelled, it has a mass of 3,454 kilograms (7,615 lb), and is expected to operate for 15 years.^[1] It carries two steerable antennas capable of providing S, Ku and Ka band communications for other spacecraft, plus an array of additional S-band transponders to allow communications at a lower data rate with greater numbers of spacecraft.^[4]

TDRS-11 was launched at 01:48 UTC on 31 January 2013, at the beginning of a 40-minute launch window. United Launch Alliance performed the launch using an Atlas V carrier rocket, tail number AV-036, flying in the 401 configuration.^[5] Liftoff occurred from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and the rocket placed its payload into a geostationary transfer orbit.

Following its arrival in geosynchronous orbit, the satellite underwent on-orbit testing. It was handed over to NASA in August 2013, receiving its operational designation TDRS-11. After its arrival on-station at 171 degrees west the satellite began its final phase of testing prior to entry into service at the end of November.^[6] As of May 2020, it was positioned at 174 degrees west.^[7]

See also[edit]

• List of TDRS satellites

References[edit]

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