TDRS-L Launch Sign and Sunrise. NASA public domain image. Kennedy space center.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft atop, is back-dropped by the rising sun looking across the Banana River. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System TDRSS fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. TDRS-L has a high-performance solar panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet the growing S-band communications requirements. TDRSS is one of NASA Space Communication and Navigation’s SCaN three networks providing space communications to NASA’s missions. For more information more about TDRS-L, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/tdrs To learn more about SCaN, visit: www.nasa.gov/scan Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky