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TDRS-6

TDRS-6

TDRS-F being deployed from Endeavour
Mission type	Communication
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1993-003B
SATCAT no.	22314
Mission duration	Planned: 10 years Elapsed: 31 years, 5 months, 1 day
Spacecraft properties
Bus	TDRS
Manufacturer	TRW
Launch mass	2,108 kg (4,647 lb)[1]
Dimensions	17.3 × 14.2 m (57 × 47 ft)
Power	1700 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	13 January 1993, 13:59:30 (1993-01-13UTC13:59:30) UTC
Rocket	Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-54 / IUS
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center LC-39B
Contractor	Rockwell International
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geostationary
Longitude	46.0° West (1994–1996) 47.0° West (1996–2005) 174.0° West (2005–)
Epoch	14 January 1993 [2]

TDRS-6, known before launch as TDRS-F, is an American communications satellite, of first generation, which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by TRW, and is based on a custom satellite bus which was used for all seven first generation TDRS satellites.^[3]

History[edit]

TDRS-F was deployed from Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-54 mission in 1993. Endeavour was launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, at 13:59:30 UTC on 13 January 1993.^[4] TDRS-F was deployed from Endeavour around six hours after launch, and was raised to geosynchronous orbit by means of an Inertial Upper Stage.^[4]

Deployment[edit]

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 (GTO). At 02:26 UTC on 14 January 1993, it reached apogee, and the second stage fired, placing TDRS-F into geosynchronous orbit.^[5] At this point, it received its operational designation, TDRS-6.

Operation[edit]

In 1994, it was placed at a longitude 46.0° West of the Greenwich Meridian, to serve as an on-orbit spare.^[6] In 1996, it was moved to 47.0° West, where it remained until 2005, when it was repositioned to 174.0° West,^[6] where, as of August 2009^[update], it was used to provide communications with spacecraft in Earth orbit, such as the International Space Station (ISS) and spacecraft bringing astronauts to the ISS.

See also[edit]

• List of TDRS satellites

References[edit]

1. ^ "UCS Satellite Database". Union of Concerned Scientists. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2009.

^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2 May 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.