2003 EARTH SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| TDRS-1 GOING STRONG AT 20 | G03-029 | 04/03/03 | 00:10:19 | NASA's first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-1) just keeps going and going. On April 4, 2003, TDRS-1 will celebrate 20 years of service. The first satellite launched for NASA's Space Network, TDRS-1, led the way to the use of advanced communications satellites enabling operators on Earth to communicate with spacecraft in low Earth orbit. TDRS-1 and its later sister satellites made possible round-the-clock and round-the-globe communication with spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and a fleet of science research satellites.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): TDRS-1 Launch
- Launched April 4, 1983 from the Space Shuttle Challenger, TDRS-1 connected NASA to space in a way that had never been done before. Designed for 10 years of operation, TDRS-1 long outlasted that, more than double its life expectancy so far. The spacecraft is one of the largest, heaviest, and most complex satellites to be placed into geosynchronous orbit, weighing more than two tons, with a solar panel wing span taller than a five-story building. At its prime, TDRS-1 was capable of providing communications service for as many as 24 separate spacecraft simultaneously, downloading to Earth the equivalent of a 20-volume set of encyclopedias every second. After retiring TDRS 1 from general TDRS service, the satellite was dedicated to National Science Foundation providing science and life support connectivity to the South Pole station.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): TDRS-1 Clean Room B-Roll
Courtesy: NASA/TRW
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| ITEM (3): NASA's Switch Board in The Sky - The Tracking and Data Relay Satellites System (TDRSS) shown in this animation, consists of a fleet of eight on-orbit satellites and various ground stations. TDRSS follows the motion of fast-moving satellites, determining their exact position and providing nearly continuous communication links with controllers and researchers back on the ground. The TDRS satellites float in a 22,300 mile-high geosynchronous orbits in a fixed position above the Earth.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): TDRS is The Link to Science - TDRS satellites relay communications from the Space Shuttle, space station and a wide range of scientific missions. Information relayed via TDRS is helping scientists unravel the mysteries of black holes, neutron stars, the birth of stars, the beginning of the universe, and also provide clues to help us understand the total Earth system.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Animation Second Generation TDRS Satellites - NASA's second generation TDRS satellites are much faster communication rates that the original fleet. TDRS I, J and K consist of three enhanced satellites that provide vital communication links to astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and supports high-data rate telemetry and high-resolution digital television for Space Shuttle communications. These new generation TDRS are completely compatible with the original fleet.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (6): B-Roll - Dr. Philip E. Liebrecht, NASA Program Manager For TDRSS, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Courtesy: NASA
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Earth Science Gallery