Tracking and data relay satellite
![The launch of TDRS-K begins the replenishment of the fleet through the development and deployment of the next generation spacecraft.](/Images/godic/202502/15/-TDRS_Heart_of_Communication.ogv5229.jpg")
_Orbital_Fleet_Communicating_with_User_Spacecraft.ogg5229.jpg"){kind=tracking}
![](/Images/godic/202502/15/1993_s54_TDRS-F5229.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202502/15/TDRS_gen15229.jpg")
A tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) is a type of communications satellite that forms part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) used by NASA and other United States government agencies for communications to and from independent "User Platforms" such as satellites, balloons, aircraft, and the International Space Station. This system was designed to replace an existing worldwide network of ground stations that had supported all of NASA's manned flight missions and unmanned satellites in low-Earth orbits. The primary system design goal was to increase the amount of time that these spacecraft were in communication with the ground and improve the amount of data that could be transferred. These TDRSS satellites are all designed and built to be launched to and function in geosynchronous orbit, 35,786 km (22,236 mi) above the surface of the Earth.