KSC-2012-5915

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Centaur stage is off loaded from the United Launch Alliance barge Delta Mariner that just arrived at Port Canaveral, Fla. The Centaur will be part of a launch vehicle that will boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K, or TDRS-K, into Earth orbit atop an Atlas V rocket. The Centaur will be transported to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center, or ASOC, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to begin processing. 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://tdrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser