TDRS-L at the Astrotech payload processing facility
| |
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2014-004A  |
| SATCAT no. | 39504 |
| Mission duration | Planned: 15 years Elapsed: 10 years, 5 months, 18 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | BSS-601HP |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Launch mass | 3,454 kg (7,615 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 24 January 2014, 02:33 (2014-01-24UTC02:33) UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Atlas V 401 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geosynchronous orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 35,785 kilometers (22,236 mi)[3] |
| Apogee altitude | 35,797 kilometers (22,243 mi)[3] |
| Inclination | 6.77 degrees[3] |
| Period | 1436.03 minutes[3] |
| Epoch | 22 January 2015, 07:10:47 UTC[3] |
| |
TDRS-12, known before launch as TDRS-L, is an American communications satellite operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. The twelfth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, it is the second third-generation spacecraft to be launched, following TDRS-11 in 2013.[4]
TDRS-12 was constructed by Boeing, based on the BSS-601HP satellite bus. Fully fueled, it has a mass of 3,454 kg (7,615 lb), with a design life of 15 years.[1] It carries two steerable antennas capable of providing S, Ku and Ka band communications for other spacecraft, with an additional array of S-band transponders for lower-rate communications with five further satellites.[4] The satellite is powered by two solar arrays, which produce 2.8 to 3.2 kilowatts of power, while an R-4D-11-300 engine is present to provide propulsion.[1][5]
The United Launch Alliance was contracted to launch TDRS-12. The spacecraft was launched on 24 January 2014 at 02:33 UTC (21:33 local time on 23 January).[2] An Atlas V rocket was used, flying in the 401 configuration, with tail number AV-043.[5] After launch, TDRS-12 was deployed into a high-perigee geosynchronous transfer orbit.[6] The spacecraft raised itself into a geosynchronous orbit using its onboard propulsion system.
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