KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Atlas IIA launch vehicle with the TDRS-J satellite aboard is ready for launch Dec. 4. The launch window is 9:42 to 10:22 p.m. EST. TDRS-J, the third in a series of telemetry satellites, will help replenish the current constellation of geosynchronous TDRS satellites that are the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. The satellites also provide communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017.
Location Kennedy Space Center, FL
Date November 25, 2002