KSC-2013-1173

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, has been encapsulated in its payload fairing. Technicians are completing final checkouts prior to the spacecraft being transported to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for January 30, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_tdrs_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett