CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. \u2014 NASA launched the last of its longtime tracking and communication satellites on Friday, a vital link to astronauts in orbit as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The end of the era came with a morning liftoff of TDRS-M, the 13th satellite in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite network. It rode to orbit aboard an unmanned Atlas V rocket. There were handshakes all around two hours later, when the satellite successfully separated from the rocket\u2019s upper stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d\u2033We\u2019re going to really celebrate this one,\u201d said launch director Tim Dunn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA has been launching TDRS satellites since 1983. The 22,300-mile-high constellation links ground controllers with the International Space Station and other low-orbiting craft, including Hubble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like our baby,\u201d said NASA\u2019s Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for space communications and navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople have invested their soul and their sweat into making it happen\u201d over the decades, Younes said on the eve of launch. \u201cThis spacecraft has served us so well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This latest flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida, was delayed two weeks after a crane hit one of the satellite\u2019s antennas last month. Satellite maker Boeing replaced the damaged antenna and took corrective action to prevent future accidents. Worker error was blamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rocket and satellite cost $540 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Space shuttles hoisted the first-generation TDRS satellites. The second in the series was aboard Challenger\u2019s doomed flight in 1986. It was the only loss in the entire TDRS series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TDRS-M is third generation. NASA\u2019s next-generation tracking network will rely on lasers. This more advanced and robust method of relaying data was demonstrated a few years ago during the moon-orbiting mission LADEE. NASA hopes to start launching these high-tech satellites by 2024. Until then, the space agency will rely on the current network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA needs seven active TDRS satellites at any given time, six for real-time support and one as a spare. The newest one will remain in reserve, until needed to replace aging craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides serving other spacecraft, the satellites help provide communication to outposts at the South Pole. In 1998, the network provided critical medical help to a doctor diagnosed with breast cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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