Fourth Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite Set to Launch

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif. — A Wideband Global SATCOM satellite is scheduled to launch on a Delta IV launch vehicle Jan. 19 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

This is the fourth launch for the WGS constellation and the second WGS launch on the Delta IV launch vehicle. The WGS-4 satellite will provide the warfighter with enhanced communication capabilities while extending global coverage.

“The launch of WGS-4 is the culmination of five years of dedicated work by the combined Boeing and government team,” said Luke Schaub, Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate’s WGS government program manager. “This satellite represents the first of a new block of WGS vehicles, enhancing the Wideband MILSATCOM compatibility currently available to thousands of users around the globe and adding high-bandwidth capacity for high-priority users. We eagerly anticipate its operational availability to our warfighters this summer.”

WGS-4 was procured from The Boeing Company by the MILSATCOM Systems Directorate, part of the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center. WGS-4 is the first satellite to be delivered under the Block II contract awarded in 2006.

WGS is the nation’s next-generation wideband satellite communications system. It is augmenting and replacing the Defense Satellite Communication System, the Department of Defense’s backbone for satellite communications over the last two decades.