The TDRS-J satellite is fully encapsulated and ready for transport to Launch Complex 36-A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The TDRS-J satellite is fully encapsulated and ready for transport to Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. There it will be mated with the Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA-Centaur rocket for launch on Dec. 4. The third in a series of telemetry satellites, TDRS-J will help replenish the current constellation of geosynchronous TDRS satellites. The TDRS System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017.