The TDRS-J satellite is lifted up the gantry on Launch Complex 36 A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The TDRS-J satellite is lifted up the gantry on Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The satellite is scheduled to be launched Dec. 4 aboard an Atlas IIA vehicle. The launch window is 9:42 to 10:22 p.m. EST. TDRS-J, the third in a series of telemetry satellites, will help replenish the current constellation of geosynchronous TDRS satellites that are the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. The satellites also provide 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.