TDRS-B

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.

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
 

Launch

TDRS-B was launched in the payload bay of Challenger, attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS). It was to have been deployed from the Shuttle in low Earth orbit. The IUS would have then performed two burns to raise the satellite into a geosynchronous orbit. On the previous TDRS launch, TDRS-1, the IUS second-stage motor malfunctioned following the first-stage burn, resulting in a loss of control, and delivery of the satellite into an incorrect orbit.

Launch failed
Challenger disintegrates 73 seconds after launch.

TDRS-B was originally scheduled for launch on STS-12 in March 1984; however, it was delayed and the flight cancelled following the IUS failure on TDRS-1.[2] It was later re-manifested on STS-51-E; however, this too was cancelled due to concerns over the reliability of the IUS. It was eventually assigned to STS-51-L, which was also to carry the SPARTAN-Halley astronomy satellite.[3]

STS-51-L launched with TDRS-B at 16:38:00 UTC on 28 January 1986.[4] The Shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after launch due to an O-ring failure in one of the Solid Rocket Boosters, killing the seven astronauts aboard.

Aftermath
Debris from TDRS-B

Once it reached orbit, TDRS-B was to have been given the operational designation TDRS-2. Although normal practice was to reassign operational designations in the event of launch failures, the TDRS-2 designation was not reassigned, and when TDRS-C was launched, it became TDRS-3. Debris from TDRS-B was recovered along with the wreckage of Challenger

The TDRS-G satellite was ordered to replace TDRS-B.[5] It was launched from Space Shuttle Discovery in 1995, on mission STS-70. It became TDRS-7 after reaching geosynchronous orbit.[4]

References
  1. "Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) Characteristics". NASA. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. Wade, Mark. "STS-12". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  3. Krebs, Gunter. "TDRS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  5. "Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)". NASA Space Communications. Retrieved 25 June 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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