COLLECTION NAME:
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Collection
Record
Name of Image:
STS-43 Onboard Photograph - TDRS-E
Full Description:
The primary payload of the STS-43 mission, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-E (TDRS-E) attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) was photographed at the moment of its release from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis. The TDRS-E was boosted by the IUS into geosynchronous orbit and positioned to remain stationary 22,400 miles above the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii. The TDRS system provides almost uninterrupted communications with Earth-orbiting Shuttles and satellites, and had replaced the intermittent coverage provided by globe-encircling ground tracking stations used during the early space program. The TDRS can transmit and receive data, and track a user spacecraft in a low Earth orbit. The IUS is an unmarned transportation system designed to ferry payloads from low Earth orbit to higher orbits that are unattainable by the Shuttle. The launch of STS-43 occurred on August 2, 1991.
Date of Image:
1991-08-01
Category:
Space Shuttle Projects
term:
IUS
term:
Inertial Upper Stage
term:
STS-43
term:
TDRS-E
term:
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-E
facet_what:
Earth
facet_what:
Space Shuttle Orbiter
facet_what:
TDRS-E
facet_where:
Hawaii
facet_where:
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
facet_where:
Pacific Ocean
facet_when:
August 2, 1991
facet_when_year:
1991
Reference Number:
MSFC-75-SA-4105-2C
MIX #:
9139346
NIX #:
MSFC-9139346
MSFC Negative Number:
9139346
UID:
SPD-MARSH-9139346
