First Wideband Global SATCOM Launched
Nice launch of the WGS SV-1 satellite. The news, via The A.P. and International Herald Tribune:
A rocket carrying a satellite used for communication by the United States Air Force lifted off Wednesday night.
The Atlas V, which launched at 8:22 p.m. (0022 Thursday), is carrying a Wideband Global SATCOM satellite. It is the first of at least five satellites that will be placed in orbit through 2008.
The system will replace the current Defense Satellite Communications System that has been used for military communications for the last two decades. This first satellite will cover the Pacific Zone which includes Hawaii, Japan and Southeast Asia. Each spacecraft will cost $350 million (€247.42 million).
The DSCS system will be used in conjunction with WGS until being phased out within the next few years.
Col. David Urich, the Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing vice commander, said the first spacecraft alone "will provide more capacity than all the current DSCS satellites currently in use."
The launch was scheduled for Tuesday, but delayed a day as engineers checked data that might have indicated the Atlas V rocket would have fallen short of its intended orbit.
