 TDRS-K before launch | |
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2013-004A |
| SATCAT no. | 39070 |
| Mission duration | Planned: 15 years Elapsed: 12 years, 6 months, 12 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | BSS-601HP |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Launch mass | 3,454 kilograms (7,615 lb) [1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 31 January 2013, 01:48 UTC [2] |
| Rocket | Atlas V 401 AV-036 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geosynchronous orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 35,755 kilometers (22,217 mi) [3] |
| Apogee altitude | 35,826 kilometers (22,261 mi) [3] |
| Inclination | 6.39 degrees [3] |
| Period | 1436.00 minutes [3] |
| Epoch | 20 January 2015, 13:09:06 UTC [3] |
 | |
TDRS-11, known before launch as TDRS-K, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. The eleventh Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is the first third-generation spacecraft. [4]
TDRS-11 was constructed by Boeing, and is based on the BSS-601HP satellite bus. Fully fuelled, it has a mass of 3,454 kilograms (7,615 lb), and is expected to operate for 15 years. [1] It carries two steerable antennas capable of providing S, Ku and Ka band communications for other spacecraft, plus an array of additional S-band transponders to allow communications at a lower data rate with greater numbers of spacecraft. [4]
TDRS-11 was launched at 01:48 UTC on 31 January 2013, at the beginning of a 40-minute launch window. United Launch Alliance performed the launch using an Atlas V carrier rocket, tail number AV-036, flying in the 401 configuration. [5] Liftoff occurred from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and the rocket placed its payload into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Following its arrival in geosynchronous orbit, the satellite underwent on-orbit testing. It was handed over to NASA in August 2013, receiving its operational designation TDRS-11. After its arrival on-station at 171 degrees west the satellite began its final phase of testing prior to entry into service at the end of November. [6] As of May 2020, it was positioned at 174 degrees west. [7]
