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The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) system represents a new era in tracking
Earth-orbiting spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle, and transmitting their data back to Earth.
The TDRS concept was conceived following early 1970s studies which showed that a system of
orbiting telecommunications satellites, operated from a single ground terminal link, could more
effectively support Space Shuttle, scientific and other NASA mission requirements than the nearly
25-year-old tracking and communications network of ground stations located worldwide.