Atlas V launches TDRS-L

1/23/14 ~ 9:33 p.m.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 401 rocket launches the second next-generation Tracking & Data Relay Satellite,
TDRS-L. TDRS-L continues to replenish a fleet started for the space shuttle program in 1983 with STS-6. The TDRS
satellite system relays data from major orbiting spacecraft including the International Space Station (and the
shuttle, previously) as well as science missions like the Hubble Space Telescope and classified payloads from
the National Reconnaissance Office.

Photos this page credit: United Launch Alliance