Article Posted on : - Jan 22, 2012

Photo: United Launch Alliance.

CAPE CANAVERAL (BNS): Boeing has received the first on-orbit signals from the fourth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite it is delivering to the US Air Force.

The Company's Mission Control Centre in El Segundo has confirmed that the satellite is functioning normally. The signals have indicated that WGS-4, the first in the Block II series, is healthy and ready to begin orbital maneuvers and operational testing, it said.

WGS-4 was launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle on Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Controllers confirmed initial contact with the spacecraft 58 minutes later after liftoff at a ground station in Dongara, Australia.

Following a sequence of orbital maneuvers and on-orbit tests, WGS-4 will be placed into geosynchronous Earth orbit.

The satellite joins WGS-1, which entered service over the Pacific Ocean in April 2008; WGS-2, which began operations over the Middle East in August 2009; and WGS-3, which entered service over the Atlantic Ocean in June 2010.

Together, the four WGS satellites will provide assured access to high-data-rate, jam-resistant communications for US forces and allies around the world.

The Block II series includes additional capabilities, such as a new radio frequency bypass that supports the transmission of airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery at data rates approximately three times greater than those currently available on Block I satellites.