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Delta IV EELV -- Testing TDRSS
Test hardware modeling an upper stage section of a Boeing Delta IV launch vehicle is suspended from atop NASA's 90-foot test tower in Huntsville, Ala.
The test set up validates acquisition of signals to the U.S. Air Force's Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), which will be used for Delta IV telemetry and tracking.
TDRSS will enable Boeing support personnel to monitor the Delta IV flight through a single satellite. Currently, communication from Delta II and III rockets to ground stations is transmitted via land-based receivers and aircraft.
TDRSS shows that a system of telecommunication satellites operated from a single ground station could better support the space shuttle and scientific application mission requirements planned for the Nation's space program. In addition, the system is seen as a means of halting the spiraling costs of upgrading and operating a network of tracking and communications ground stations located around the world.
Currently under development at the company's Huntington Beach, Calif., site, the Delta IV family will lift payloads up to 29,100 pounds to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The rocket combines proven common Delta launch vehicle components with innovation to provide government and commercial customers with an affordable, reliable and flexible launch services.
Photo Credit: Boeing Photo - Reg Inman