The May 22 launch of the Air Force’s fifth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite will help bring the service one step closer to worldwide coverage, according to the Air Force.
Air Force WGS Program Manager Luke Schaub said last week in a teleconference WGS-5 will expand satcom capability into the continental United States (CONUS) by being launched into orbit at 52.5 degrees West longitude, which he said is off the U.S. east coast. The Air Force’s four operating WGS satellites are strategically located between the eastern Atlantic and western Pacific oceans, Schaub said.
“We’re calling it near worldwide,” Schaub said. “There’s a small area that’s not quite covered that we won’t quite close until WGS-6, but it pretty much gives us CONUS coverage we don’t have today.”
Schaub declined to specify that final area lacking WGS coverage.
WGS-5 will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV launch vehicle, the first Delta IV launch since the launch anomaly that took place during October’s GPS IIF-3 launch. While the Air Force declined to discuss the progress of the launch investigation into October’s anomaly, service spokeswoman Jennifer Green-Lanchoney said in an email the next two flights (GPS IIF-4, WGS-5) have been cleared while the investigation continues. Green-Lanchony said additional details will be released in a couple weeks.
The launch will be boosted by a Delta common booster core powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS68 main engine along with four ATK [ATK] Gem60 solid rocket motors. Delta IV’s five-meter diameter upper stage will be powered by a Rocketdyne RL10B2 engine while the satellite is encapsulated in a five-meter diameter composite payload fairing. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a division of United Technologies Corp. [UTX]
45th Launch Support Squadron (LSS) Commander Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Konyha said last week WGS-5 will be the fourth Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch from Cape Canaveral. EELV is the Air Force’s program to launch satellites into orbit and guarantee the U.S. government access to space. The Air Force has opened completion for EELV launches to new entrants Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences [ORB] to try to drive down the cost of assured access to space (Defense Daily, Dec. 12).
The Air Force has emphasized the importance of its satellite programs in light of tightening budgets since rolling out President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget proposal in April. But Air Force officials have also said despite the importance of the service’s satellite programs, they aren’t completely immune from budget pressure (Defense Daily, April 16).
WGS is the Defense Department’s highest-capacity satellite communications system, according to prime contractor Boeing [BA]. Each WGS satellite can route 2.1 to 3.6 gigabits (Gbps) of data–providing more than 10 times the communications capacity of the predecessor Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) III satellite. Using reconfigurable antennas and a digital channelizer, WGS also offers added flexibility to tailor coverage areas and to connect X-band and Ka-band users anywhere within the satellite field of view.
ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin [LMT].