Transcripts of TDRS-L_Network_youtube_hq

Music Music In the late 1970’s, satellites, such as the NIMBUS-7 satellite, relied on NASA’s ground stations located around the world to provide a communication network. This ground-based network could only provide communication over 15 percent of the satellite’s orbit. With its ever-expanding orbiting fleet of satellites and manned space flights NASA had to increase the coverage and develop an improved way to track and communicate. In 1983, NASA launched the first of a series of new communication and navigation satellites that would rely less on international ground stations and provide continuous coverage. Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) are a network of geosynchronous communication satellites that work in conjunction with two ground stations. Today, NASA’s fleet of spacecraft and launch vehicles, like the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) can communicate and navigate with the help of TDRS. This interaction between TDRS and the spacecraft is a series of complicated signals that guaranties that every Earth orbiting spacecraft will have nearly non-stop coverage. The International Space Station (ISS) routes voice and video communications along with data through the TDRS fleet. The Hubble Space Telescope also utilizes the full capabilities of TDRS. TDRS supports the Hubble’s real-time interactions with the ground systems allowing observers to make small adjustments to its observatory system. TDRS provides the Earth Observing System of satellites, such as the Aura spacecraft, with low latency data relay and navigation data. The TDRS network sends all of these data streams and voice communications to either the White Sands Complex in New Mexico or the Guam Remote Ground Terminal. Guam then transmits the data it receives to White Sands. The White Sands Complex then relays it to the end user at their mission’s operations centers. As long as there’s space exploration, TDRS will be working side by side with spacecraft and end-user, providing continuous connectivity for navigation, data and voice communications.