Boeing's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS I) has reached geostationary orbit to provide communications services for NASA. The spacecraft was launched on 8 March but was stranded in transfer orbit due to the failure to pressurise one of the craft's two propellant tanks. Boeing engineers rerouted fuel tank pressurant around a blocked valve and conducted engine burns to circularise the satellite's orbit. TDRS I is the second such satellite built by Boeing, succeeding a fleet of seven TRW satellites.
Source: Flight International
