Launch News Atlas V to Launch TDRS-M (8:03 a.m. EDT/ 1203 GMT) Friday, Aug. 18, 2017

Nicholas Kang · Aug 15, 2017

Quick Facts:

Rocket: Atlas V 401
Payload: NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)-M
Launch Date: Friday, Aug. 18, 2017
Launch Time: 8:03 a.m. EDT at the beginning of a 40-minute launch window
Live Broadcast: Coverage begins Aug. 18 at 7:30 a.m. EDT on NASA TV (Public Education)
http://www.ulalaunch.com/webcast.aspx
Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

Mission Overview (PDF Format) is available for download here.

Mission Description: The addition of TDRS-M to the Space Network (SN) will provide the ability to support space communication for an additional 15 years. The network consists of TDRS satellites that transmit data to and from ground stations on Earth for NASA missions and expendable launch vehicles. Without the Space Network, scientists, engineers and control room staff would be unable to readily access data from missions like the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.

Launch Notes: This launch will be ULA’s fifth of 2017 and 120th overall. A ULA Atlas V also launched TDRS-K mission in 2013 and TDRS-L in 2014. This mission will mark the 72nd Atlas V rocket since its inaugural launch in 2002.