high resolution image available here |
| TDRS-J TAKES OFF - TDRS-J, the third
Boeing-built replenishment spacecraft for NASA's Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite fleet, was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla. at 9:42 p.m. EST Dec. 4 (6:42 p.m. PST; 2:42 a.m. Dec. 5
GMT). The spacecraft's first signals were acquired 59 minutes later by NASA's
Deep Space Network ground station in Canberra, Australia, confirming that
its systems are operating normally. Boeing Satellite Systems built the
modified Boeing 601 satellite for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center of
Greenbelt, Md. The TDRS satellites relay large volumes of voice, television
and scientific data from manned missions such as the space shuttle or
orbiting scientific spacecraft such as the Hubble Space Telescope back
to ground control centers. |
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BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS, INC. Public Relations Department P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323) Los Angeles, CA 90009 Media Relations (310) 364-6363 www.boeing.com/satellite |
02PR-01599E |