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The Darkest Bluriest Rocket Launch Ever!!! (1.19.12)

3,743 views · Published 21 January 2012 · 4:22 · Indexed 30 October 2026

Channel: TheTimTracker · 2012 · Science & Technology

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A new Air Force satellite headed for service over the Middle East to route essential communications to U.S. military forces and improve data links to unmanned aerial drones was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral last night. The Wideband Global SATCOM 4 spacecraft, better known as WGS 4, rode a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket away from the Florida spaceport's pad 37B at 7:38 p.m. EST (0038 GMT) on a 40-minute ascent to supersynchronous orbit.

Liftoff occurred at the opening minute of a launch window set months in advance.

Valued at $464 million, the 6.5-ton satellite will enhance military communications over a turbulent portion of the globe when it commences broadcasting duties in a few months.

Dropped off into a highly-elliptical, preliminary orbit by the Delta 4 rocket, the satellite's conventional bi-propellant chemical main engine will execute four apogee and four perigee firings through early February before beginning 40 days of final orbit circularization maneuvers with its xenon-ion propulsion thrusters to reach geosynchronous perch 22,300 miles above Earth in March.

Once its appendages are fully unfurled in space, the craft's solar-power wings will span 134 feet.

In-orbit testing with the military's Camp Roberts facility in California will occur from mid-March through mid-April. Boeing will control the craft's initial flying until handover to the Air Force at the end of April.

From there, the spacecraft will drift to the operational location over the Indian Ocean to receive final acceptance into the WGS constellation and enter service this summer.

The Air Force says it plans to put this WGS 4 spacecraft's coverage footprint over the Middle East and Southeast Asia for use by U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command.

"WGS provides critical operation and situational awareness information to the warfighter," said Dave Madden, director of the Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center. "I want to thank Boeing and the work they have done to give us a first-class quality satellite that's going to be a critical add to our constellation."

WGS 4 starts an enhanced "block" of satellites with improved bandwidth for communications to the military's remote-controlled drones known for their stealthy and undercover operations in global hotspots. The vehicles can carry cameras, radar sensors and detectors to sniff out uranium and radioactive material.

"The UAVs and moving large amounts of data around is a major requirement that drove us to do the upgrade, which is giving us the significantly more bandwidth and capacity," said Madden.

Once slid into its orbital home high above the Indian Ocean, the satellite will join the expanding fleet of Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellites that form the Pentagon's worldwide communications backbone across all branches of the military.

"WGS is the DOD's highest capacity communications satellite system. These satellites provide tremendous operational flexibility to deliver the needed capacity, coverage and connectivity in support of demanding operational scenarios," said Mark Spiwak, the WGS program director for satellite-builder Boeing.

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