page_title: TDRS-10
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: TDRS-10 / History
caption_attribution_description: KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. --At Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the TDRS-J satellite clears the tower as it launches aboard an Atlas IIA vehicle at the beginning of the launch window at 9:42 p.m. EST. TDRS-J, the third in a series of telemetry satellites and 10th overall, 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
context_page_description: TDRS-10, known before launch as TDRS-J, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. It was constructed by the Boeing Satellite Development Center, formerly Hughes Space and Communications, and is based on the BSS-601 satellite bus. It was the third and final Advanced TDRS, or second-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, to be launched.
context_section_description: The final Atlas IIA rocket was used to launch TDRS-J, under a contract with International Launch Services. The launch occurred at 02:42 UTC on 5 December 2002, from Space Launch Complex 36A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. TDRS-10 separated from its carrier rocket into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. At 01:00 UTC on 14 December, following a series of apogee burns, it reached geostationary orbit.
caption: The launch of TDRS-J
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