KSC-2012-6460

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite known as TDRS-K arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard an Air Force C-17 transport aircraft at 8:29 a.m. Dec. 18 at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for a Jan. 29 launch to a location in geostationary orbit. TDRS-K flew aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 from the Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems assembly facility in El Segundo, Calif., for final preparation to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. TDRS-K is the first of three next-generation satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the fleet. Each of the new satellites has a higher performance solar panel design to provide more spacecraft power. This upgrade will return signal processing for the S-Band multiple access service to the ground -- the same as the first-generation TDRS spacecraft. Ground-based processing allows TDRS to service more customers with different and evolving communication requirements. For more information, visit http://tdrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett