CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL - Unied Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force will launch the second Wideband Global Communications satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 here April 3. The launch window extends from 8:31 to 9:33 p.m. EDT.
READ: LAUNCH MISSION BOOK READ: LAUNCH HAZARD AREA READ: RESTRICTED AIRSPACE MAP Previously, a March 17 launch attempt of this mission was scrubbed due to an out-of-family upper stage oxidizer valve leak rate that occurred during launch countdown fueling operations. During the past two weeks, the Atlas V vehicle was rolled back into the Space Launch Complex-41 Vertical Integration Facility and the suspect valve was replaced. These satellites are designed to provide high-capacity communications to our nation's military forces. It will augment and eventually replace the aging Defense Satellite Communication System, which has been the Department of Defense's backbone for satellite communications over the last two decades. The satellite provides a giant leap in communications bandwidth and technology. "We are extremely proud to be a part of the team that will launch the second Wideband Global SATCOM satellite," said Brig. Gen. Edward L. Bolton Jr., 45th Space Wing commander. "The launch of this satellite will provide our military with the capacity, connectivity, and flexibility to successfully complete its mission." First launched in 2007, WGS will be a constellation of five satellites that will supply service for military leaders to command and control their tactical forces. After the launch of WGS-2, WGS-3 will round out the remainder of the first phase of satellites. The WGS-3 satellite has completed its test programs and is slated for later this year. WGS-2 is the second installment of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system. WGS is an important element of a new high-capacity satellite communications system providing enhanced communications capabilities to our troops in the field for the next decade and beyond. The first spacecraft alone is providing more capacity than the entire Defense Satellite Communications System constellation currently on orbit. This equates to 10 times the capacity of DSCS. This is third Atlas V launch for the Air Force following the STP-1 and WGS-1 launches in 2007. The WGS-2 mission marks the 15th Atlas V launch in program history and is the fourth overall launch for ULA in 2009. A third WGS satellite will launch on a Delta IV later this year.
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