KSC-2012-6186

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Ukrainian Antonov-124 transport aircraft prepares to touch down at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with the first stage of the Atlas V rocket that will carry the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, into orbit. The booster stage, arriving from the United Launch Alliance manufacturing plant in Decatur, Ala., will be taken to the hangar at the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral. Launch of the TDRS-K on the Atlas V rocket is planned for January 2013 from Space Launch Complex 41. 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/Tim Jacobs