TDRS-B

TDRS-B
Artist's impression of a TDRS satellite in orbit
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorNASA
COSPAR IDTDRSS-B
Mission durationPlanned: 10 years
Final: 1 minute, 13 seconds
Failed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
BusTDRS
ManufacturerTRW
Launch mass2,200 kg (4,850 lb)[1]
Dimensions17.4 × 12.9 m (57 × 42 ft)[1]
Power1700 watts[1]
Start of mission
Launch date28 January 1986, 16:38:00 (1986-01-28UTC16:38) UTC
RocketSpace Shuttle Challenger
STS-51-L / IUS
Launch siteKennedy LC-39B
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Destroyed28 January 1986, 16:39:13 (1986-01-28UTC16:39:14) UTC
Challenger disaster
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeGeostationary orbit
EpochPlanned

TDRS-B was an American communications satellite, of first generation, which was to have formed part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was destroyed in 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch.

  1. ^ a b c "Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) Characteristics". NASA. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2020.