TDRS-1, known before launch as TDRS-A, was an American
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...
, operated by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
as part of the
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System
The U.S. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS, pronounced "T-driss") is a network of American communications satellites (each called a tracking and data relay satellite, TDRS) and ground stations used by NASA for space communications. ...
. It was constructed by
TRW and launched by on its maiden flight,
STS-6
STS-6 was the sixth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the maiden flight of the . Launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 4, 1983, the mission deployed the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-1, into orbit, before landing at Edwards ...
.
History
While on the pad, problems were detected with ''
Challenger'' main engines and repairs began. During this time, a severe storm contaminated TDRS-1 while it was in the Payload Change-out Room on the
Rotating Service Structure at the launch pad. The satellite had to be returned to its checkout facility, where it was cleaned and rechecked. ''Challenger'' finally lifted off from
Launch Complex 39A of the
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...
at 18:30:00 UTC on 4 April 1983.
Operations
Following deployment from ''Challenger'', TDRS-1 was to be raised to its operational
geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...
by means of an
Inertial Upper Stage
The Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), originally designated the Interim Upper Stage, was a Multistage rocket, two-stage, Solid-propellant rocket, solid-fueled space launch system developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force beginning in 1976 for ...
having two
solid rocket motor
A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder. The inception of gunpowder rockets in warfare can be cre ...
s, the first used to raise the orbital
apogee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values.
Apsides perta ...
, the second its
perigee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values.
Apsides perta ...
. The first burn was successful, but the IUS went out of control during the second burn. TDRS-1 separated from the upper stage in a lower than planned orbit. It was eventually raised to geosynchronous orbit using its
attitude control system
Spacecraft attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of a spacecraft (vehicle or satellite) with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, ...
. To achieve this, a team of engineers from the
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...
in
Greenbelt,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
worked for nearly three months using six one-pound thrusters on the errant satellite to push it higher in space. The failure was later identified as a collapsed second-stage nozzle techroll seal, a flexible ring which allows the nozzle to pivot and provide directional control.
The Goddard engineers' successful effort required 39 adjustment burns to correct the elliptical orbit to the geosynchronous orbit desired for TDRS-1. Goddard Space Flight Center on 26 November 1984 honored a group of 34 individuals for the rescue with the
Robert H. Goddard Award of Merit
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
, the highest level of recognition the Goddard Space Flight Center can bestow on its employees.
["Tecwyn Roberts at the Network Engineering Division"](_blank)
''llanddaniel.co.uk'' Retrieved: 5 May 2011. In 1989 satellite operations were affected by a
geomagnetic storm
A geomagnetic storm, also known as a magnetic storm, is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere that is driven by interactions between the magnetosphere and large-scale transient Plasma (physics), plasma and magnetic field structur ...
.
TDRS-1 formed part of the first pole-to-pole phone call on 28 April 1999, with TDRS-1 being used at the South Pole, and an
Iridium phone being used at the North Pole (recorded in
Ripley's Believe It Or Not
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...
and
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
in April 1999).
Mission duration
TDRS-1 had a design life of ten years, but in April 2008, it remained operational on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its launch. Over the years, the
orbital inclination
Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object.
For a satellite orbiting the Earth ...
was allowed to increase so that, for portions of the day (approximately 5 hours), it could be used for communications with the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and then the
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...
. Along with
Marisat F2,
GOES 3 and
LES-9, it was one of a number of satellites that were transferred to the US
National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
in 1998,
[ ] for communications with the
Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is a science and technology in the United States, United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the List of extreme points of the United States, southernmost point under ...
.
After Marisat was retired, TDRS-1 became the primary means of communication with the research station.
The last functioning
traveling-wave tube
A traveling-wave tube (TWT, pronounced "twit") or traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA, pronounced "tweeta") is a specialized vacuum tube that is used in electronics to amplify radio frequency (RF) signals in the microwave range. It was invented ...
amplifier aboard TDRS-1 failed in October 2009,
rendering the spacecraft unusable for communications.
TDRS-1 proved helpful during a 1999 medical emergency at the NSF's
Antarctic
The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole.
The Antar ...
Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is a science and technology in the United States, United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the List of extreme points of the United States, southernmost point under ...
. The satellite's high-speed Internet connectivity allowed personnel to conduct
telemedicine conferences. Doctors in the United States aided
Dr. Jerri Nielsen, who had breast cancer, to perform a self-biopsy and administer
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
. Later, in 2002, doctors used TDRS-1 to perform another telemedicine conference with the station to assist in knee surgery for a
meteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...
.
Because of its orbit, the satellite was able to link the North and South Poles and relayed the first pole-to-pole phone call. TDRS-1 also transmitted the first internet connection and live webcast from the North Pole and supported the first global television from the South Pole Station - a worldwide television broadcast to commemorate the beginning of the year 2000.
Decommissioned
The spacecraft was retired on or about 21 October 2009, after 26 years. Decommissioning was started on 5 June 2010 and
passivation completed on 27 June 2010. , NASA repositioned
TDRS-3 to assume the duties of TDRS-1.
See also
*
List of TDRS satellites
This is a list of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites. TDRS spacecraft are all in geostationary orbit and are operated by the United States NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and are used for communication between NASA facilitie ...
References
External links
NASA's TDRS-1 Remote Terminal System Installed at Canberra Deep Space Communication ComplexNASA's Antarctic TDRS-1 Remote Ground Terminal Installed at McMurdo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tdrs-1
Derelict satellites orbiting Earth
Satellite launch anomalies
Spacecraft launched in 1983
TDRS satellites
Spacecraft launched by the Space Shuttle
Spacecraft decommissioned in 2009