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TDRS-4

American communications satellite

Field	Value
name	TDRS-4
image	Earth through the bay door2.jpg
image_caption	TDRS-D being deployed from Discovery
mission_type	Communication
operator	NASA
COSPAR_ID	1989-021B
SATCAT	19883
mission_duration	Planned: 10 years
Final:
spacecraft_bus	TDRS
manufacturer	TRW
launch_mass	2108 kg
dimensions	17.3 xx
power	1700 watts
launch_date	UTC
launch_rocket
STS-29R / IUS
launch_site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B
launch_contractor	Rockwell International
disposal_type	Retired to graveyard
declared	December 2011
deactivated
orbit_epoch	14 March 1989
orbit_reference	Geocentric orbit
orbit_regime	Geostationary orbit
orbit_longitude	41.0° West (1988–2005)
46.0° West (2005–2011)
apsis	gee
programme	Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
First-generation
previous_mission	TDRS-3
next_mission	TDRS-5

Final:

STS-29R / IUS

46.0° West (2005–2011)

First-generation TDRS-4, known before launch as TDRS-D, is an American communications satellite, of first generation, which was operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System from 1989 until 2011. It was constructed by TRW, based on a custom satellite bus which was used for all seven of the first generation TDRS satellites.

History

TDRS-D was launched aboard during the STS-29 mission in 1989. Discovery launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center at 14:57:00 UTC on 13 March 1989. TDRS-D was deployed from Discovery a few hours after launch, and was raised to geostationary orbit by means of an Inertial Upper Stage.

Deployment

The twin-stage solid-propellant Inertial Upper Stage made two burns. The first stage burn occurred shortly after deployment from Discovery, and placed the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). At 03:30 UTC on 14 March 1989, it reached apogee, and the second stage fired, placing TDRS-D into geostationary orbit. At this point, it received its operational designation, TDRS-4. It was placed at a longitude 41.0° West of the Greenwich Meridian, from where it provided communications services to spacecraft in Earth orbit, including the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. In 2005, it was relocated to 46.0° West.

Retirement

TDRS-4 completed its planned mission in December 2011, and was subsequently removed to a graveyard orbit 350 km above GEO orbit belt, per International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations (UN) recommendations. In May 2012, NASA reported that the orbit-raising manoeuvre had been completed successfully, and the spacecraft had been retired.

Location of TDRS as of 26 May 2020

References

(1 July 2009). "UCS Satellite Database". Union of Concerned Scientists.
"NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Trajectory Details".
Krebs, Gunter. "TDRS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6". Gunter's Space Page.
McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page.
McDowell, Jonathan. "Index". Jonathan's Space Page.
"TDRS 4". TSE.
(1 December 2002). "The TDRS-J satellite". Spaceflight Now.
Johnson, Nicholas. (5 December 2011). "Space debris issues". The Space Show.
(8 May 2012). "TDRS-4 Mission Complete; Spacecraft Retired From Active Service". NASA.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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