| Auto: | all |
| TDRS-11 | |
| Insignia: | TDRS K Project fairing logo.png |
| Mission Type: | Communications |
| Operator: | NASA |
| Cospar Id: | 2013-004A |
| Satcat: | 39070 |
| Mission Duration: | Planned: 15 years Elapsed: |
| Spacecraft Bus: | BSS-601HP |
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
| Launch Mass: | [1] |
| Launch Date: | UTC[2] |
| Launch Rocket: | Atlas V 401 AV-036 |
| Launch Site: | Cape Canaveral SLC-41 |
| Launch Contractor: | United Launch Alliance |
| Orbit Epoch: | 20 January 2015, 13:09:06 UTC[3] |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Geosynchronous orbit |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 35755km (22,217miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 35826km (22,261miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 6.39 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 1436.00 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
TDRS-11, known before launch as TDRS-K, is an American communications satellite which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. The eleventh Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is the first third-generation spacecraft.[4]
TDRS-11 was constructed by Boeing, and is based on the BSS-601HP satellite bus. Fully fuelled, it has a mass of, and is expected to operate for 15 years.[1] It carries two steerable antennas capable of providing S, Ku and Ka band communications for other spacecraft, plus an array of additional S-band transponders to allow communications at a lower data rate with greater numbers of spacecraft.[4]
TDRS-11 was launched at 01:48 UTC on 31 January 2013, at the beginning of a 40-minute launch window. United Launch Alliance performed the launch using an Atlas V carrier rocket, tail number AV-036, flying in the 401 configuration.[5] Liftoff occurred from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and the rocket placed its payload into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Following its arrival in geosynchronous orbit, the satellite underwent on-orbit testing. It was handed over to NASA in August 2013, receiving its operational designation TDRS-11. After its arrival on-station at 171 degrees west the satellite began its final phase of testing prior to entry into service at the end of November.[6] As of May 2020, it was positioned at 174 degrees west.[7]