NASA s latest communications satellite arrives in orbit

Washington Aug 18 (IANS) NASA on Friday said its third and final in a series of next generation communications satellites has successfully been placed into orbit.

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-M (TDRS-M) launched aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket with a liftoff at 8:29 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station s Space Launch Complex 41.

NASA said it will conduct additional tests before putting the Boeing-made TDRS-M into service early next year.

When ready TDRS-M will become part of NASA s Space Network providing navigation and high-data-rate communications to the International Space Station NASA s Hubble Space Telescope rockets and a host of other spacecraft.

"The TDRS fleet is a critical connection delivering science and human spaceflight data to those who can use it here on Earth " said Dave Littmann the TDRS project manager at NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland.

"TDRS-M will expand the capabilities and extend the lifespan of the Space Network allowing us to continue receiving and transmitting mission data well into the next decade " Littmann said.

TDRS-M s predecessors TDRS-K and TDRS-L also launched on Atlas V rockets from the same launch complex in January 2013 and January 2014 respectively

More than an hour and a half after launch the TDRS-M spacecraft separated from the rocket s Centaur upper stage heralding the end of the launch effort and the mission s beginning.

Following several months of calibration and testing TDRS-M will be renamed TDRS-13 and it will be eligible to begin supporting NASA s Space Network.

--IANS
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