TDRS 8 was an American Tracking and Data Relay Satellite in geosynchronous orbit and was launched by an Atlas 2A rocket from Cape Canaveral at about 13:00 UT. This brings to seven the number of operational spacecraft in this fleet. (TDRS B had perished on the Challenger shuttle in 1986.)
The 2,910 kg (dry), 2.04 kW spacecraft carried two steerable, 5-m diameter dishes to enable many channels in C-, Ku-, and Ka-bands, with rates of 300 Mbits/s in the Ku-band, and 800 Mbits/s in the Ka-band. In addition, a phased array antenna in C-band can receive signals from five different spacecraft simultaneously, while transmitting to one of them.
Alternate Names
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 8
Facts in Brief
Launch Date: 2000-06-30
Launch Vehicle: Atlas 2A
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
Mass: 2910.0 kg
Nominal Power: 2300.0 W