NASA officials were all smiles June 30 when its next-generation of communications satellites successfully reached orbit aboard an Atlas 2A rocket.

Marketed by International Launch Services (ILS), The Atlas 2A lifted off at 8:56 a.m. EDT from Complex 36, Pad A, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and TDRS H’s first signals were received 36 minutes later. The satellite’s 15-foot antenna was unfurled successfully at 1:51 p.m. Its permanent slot will be 171 degreesW.

When testing is completed and the spacecraft is declared operational, it will be redesignated TDRS 8 and will join predecessors in NASA’s TDRS fleet in providing real-time communication links with the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and other Earth-orbiting satellites.

TDRS H will have a data communications rate of up to 800 megabits per second, more that twice the maximum rate of the current TDRS generation.

Hughes Electronics Corp. [GMH] is the prime contractor, through its Hughes Space and Communications Co. unit, for TDRS H, I and J. The later two satellites are scheduled for launch in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

“TDRS spacecraft are the lifeline of mankind in space, safeguarding astronauts by providing direct contact with Earth,” said Tig Krekel, HSC president and CEO. “Beyond human space activities, TDRS supports spacecraft with research targets ranging from the birth of stars deep in distant galaxies to subtleties of environmental phenomena on Earth.”