List of TDRS satellites

Location of TDRS as of 26 May 2020

Location of TDRS as of March 2019

This is a list of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites. TDRS spacecraft are all in geostationary orbit and are operated by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and are used for communication between NASA facilities and spacecraft, ^[1] including the Space Shuttle, Hubble Space Telescope, and International Space Station.

As of August 2025 ^[update] , 7 out of 12 TDRS satellites launched were operational, two (TDRS-3, TDRS-5) had been placed in storage, three (TDRS-1, TDRS-4 and TDRS-9) had been retired, and one (TDRS-B) had been lost in a launch failure. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Satellites

Generation	Designation		Launch, UTC	Launch vehicle	Launch site	Longitude	Status	Retirement	Remarks
	Launch	Operational
First	TDRS-A	TDRS-1	4 April 1983 18:30:00 [5]	Space Shuttle Challenger/IUS (STS-6) [6]	Kennedy, LC-39A	41° W, 62° W, 171° W	Retired [4]	27 June 2010 [7]	IUS malfunctioned, raised orbit using maneuvering thrusters. End of life October 2009. [8] Placed in a graveyard orbit on 27 June 2010. [4]
	TDRS-B	N/A	28 January 1986 16:38:00 [5]	Space Shuttle Challenger/IUS (STS-51-L)	Kennedy, LC-39B	N/A	Destroyed	28 January 1986 16:39:13	Launch failure Shuttle disintegrated during ascent
	TDRS-C	TDRS-3	29 September 1988 15:37:00 [5]	Space Shuttle Discovery/IUS (STS-26R) [6]	Kennedy, LC-39B	62° W [4]	In storage [4]	December 2011 [9]
	TDRS-D	TDRS-4	13 March 1989 14:57:00 [5]	Space Shuttle Discovery/IUS (STS-29R) [6]	Kennedy, LC-39B		Retired [4]	April/May 2012 [10]	Placed in a graveyard orbit. [4]
	TDRS-E	TDRS-5	2 August 1991 15:02:00 [5]	Space Shuttle Atlantis/IUS (STS-43) [6]	Kennedy, LC-39A	167° W [4]	In storage [4]
	TDRS-F	TDRS-6	13 January 1993 13:59:30 [5]	Space Shuttle Endeavour/IUS (STS-54) [6]	Kennedy, LC-39B	46° W [4]	Active [4]
	TDRS-G	TDRS-7	13 July 1995 13:41:55 [5]	Space Shuttle Discovery/IUS (STS-70)	Kennedy, LC-39B	85° E [4]	Active [4]		Replaced TDRS-B
Second	TDRS-H	TDRS-8	30 June 2000 12:56 [5]	Atlas IIA	Canaveral, SLC-36A	89° E [4]	Active [4]
	TDRS-I	TDRS-9	8 March 2002 22:59 [5]	Atlas IIA	Canaveral, SLC-36A	12° W [4]	Retired [4]	5 January 2023 [11]
	TDRS-J	TDRS-10	5 December 2002 02:42 [5]	Atlas IIA	Canaveral, SLC-36A	171° W [12]	Active [4]
Third	TDRS-K	TDRS-11	31 January 2013 01:48:00	Atlas V 401	Canaveral, SLC-41	174° W [12]	Active [4]		USD$350 million cost, paid to Boeing under a firm-fixed price (FFP) contract. [13]
	TDRS-L	TDRS-12	24 January 2014 02:33:00 [14]	Atlas V 401	Canaveral, SLC-41	41° W [4]	Active [4]		USD$350 million cost, FFP contract. [13]
	TDRS-M	TDRS-13	18 August 2017 12:29:00 [15]	Atlas V 401 [15]	Canaveral, SLC-41 [15]	49° W	Active		USD$289 million firm-fixed-price contract option with Boeing; option exercised in November 2011, ahead of expiry on 30 November 2012. [13]
	TDRS-N						Cancelled		Option not exercised [16] [17]

Gallery

Animation of TDRS-8 - TDRS-13

Oblique view

Oblique view - Earth fixed frame

   Earth ·   TDRS-8  ·   TDRS-9  ·   TDRS-10  ·   TDRS-11  ·   TDRS-12  ·   TDRS-13

References

• Spaceflight portal

1. "NASA'S Tracking and Data Relay Satellite". NASA Facts Online. December 1992. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. "Northrop Grumman-Built TDRS-1 Satellite Reaches 25 Years of Operational Success and Sets New Standard for Longevity, Reliability". Reuters. 7 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
3. "TDRS: 25 Years of Connecting Space To Earth". www.nasa.gov. NASA. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. "Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) Fleet". www.nasa.gov. NASA. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. J. McDowell. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
6. "NASA'S Tracking and Data Relay Satellite". NASA Facts Online. December 1992. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. "NASA Retires First Data Relay Satellite After Stellar Career". www.nasa.gov. NASA. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
8. "TDRS-1 Satellite Reaches 25 Years Of Age". Space Mart. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
9. "Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)". www.nasa.gov. NASA. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
10. "TDRS-4 Mission Complete; Spacecraft Retired From Active Service". www.nasa.gov. NASA. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
11. "NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-9 Reaches End of Mission". www.nasa.gov. NASA. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
12. T. S. Kelso. "TDRS Satellites Two-Line-Elements (TLE)" . Retrieved 8 November 2022.
13. "TDRS-K Launch Caught Up In Cascade of Florida Delays". Space News. 2 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
14. W. Graham (23 January 2014). "ULA opens 2014 campaign with Atlas V launch of TDRS-L". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
15. "Spaceflight Now Launch Schedule". SpaceflightNow.com. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
16. D. Leone (12 March 2014). "NASA Wants Laser Communications for TDRS Follow-on, Needs Industry Money First". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
17. G. D. Krebs. "TDRS 11, 12, 13". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 11 April 2017.