NASA Announces Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Set For Launch Aug. 3 Damaged
By Space Coast Daily // July 17, 2017
no announcement yet if damage will delay launch
ABOVE VIDEO: TDRS Deputy Project Manager Paul Buchanan takes you behind-the-scenes in the clean room where TDRS-M is undergoing final preparations and will be packed into its capsule for launch. (NASA video)
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FLORIDA – NASA revealed Monday that the Omni S-band antenna on the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite set for launch Aug. 3 was damaged while being packed last Friday inside the payload processing facility.
There has been no announcement if the damaged satellite will delay the blastoff from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on an Atlas V rocket.
The TDRS-M has been preparing for the launch inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility, located in Titusville, Florida.
TDRS satellites are used by NASA to provide communications links between spacecraft in orbit.
NASA issued this statement on Saturday:
“NASA and Boeing are reviewing an incident that occurred during final spacecraft closeout activities on the Tracking Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) mission at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, on July 14, involving the Omni S-band antenna. The mission team is developing a plan to assess flight acceptance and the schedule forward. These additional activities are under evaluation for a planned TDRS-M launch Aug. 3, 2017, on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.”
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Related Story:VIDEO: TDRS-M Spacecraft, Atlas V Rocket Take Strides Toward Launch From Space Launch Complex 41
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