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Boeing to build 4th Wideband Gapfiller Satellite BOEING NEWS RELEASE Posted: November 14, 2006 The Boeing Company has received a $299.8 million U.S. Air Force contract for the production of the fourth Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS). This is the first option to be exercised on the WGS Block II contract, which was finalized last month. The Block II contract is valued at $1.067 billion, if all options are exercised. WGS-4 will be similar to the three Block I satellites Boeing already is building, but will include a radio frequency bypass capability designed to support airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms requiring additional bandwidth. The RF bypass will support data rates of up to 311 megabits per second. The 13-kilowatt WGS satellites are based on Boeing's 702 models and are designed to provide improved communications support for America's warfighters. WGS-4 is expected to launch in early 2011. "The procurement of this fourth WGS satellite places us on a solid path to increase the capabilities of the DoD communications constellation," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Adam Mortensen, WGS Block II program manager. "The additional satellite substantially increases the tactical communications capacity in key geographic areas, and will provide a critical capability to support data relay from new unmanned aerial vehicles that are coming on line." WGS will augment and eventually replace the Defense Satellite Communication System (DSCS) currently in orbit. One WGS satellite will provide more throughput than the entire DSCS constellation, which translates to improved effectiveness of worldwide forces and ultimately saves lives. The first WGS Block I satellite is scheduled for launch in mid-2007. "We are very pleased that the government has exercised this contract option, which will substantially enhance the capability of the WGS constellation," said Charles Toups, vice president of Boeing Navigation and Communication Systems. "Boeing has leveraged a wealth of experience and capability for WGS, including extensive investments in the 702 satellite bus, digital signal processors and phased array antennas. These capabilities enable the tremendous capacity and operational flexibility our nation requires." A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.8 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer; a foremost developer of advanced concepts and technologies; a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in sustainment solutions and launch services. |
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The space shuttle Discovery is hoisted high into the Vehicle Assembly Building and mated with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters.
Space shuttle Discovery makes an evening move October 31 from its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating with an external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters in preparation for the STS-116 mission.
The objectives of the just-approved final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission are detailed and the anticipated science from the new instruments to be installed are detailed in this briefing from Goddard Space Flight Center.
The crew for the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission will be led by Scott Altman, with pilot Greg C. Johnson, robot arm operator Megan McArthur and spacewalkers Andrew Feustel, Mike Good, John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino. The astronauts meet the press in this news briefing from Johnson Space Center.
The twin STEREO space observatories designed to change the way we view the sun launch from Cape Canaveral aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket.
With launch of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite from space shuttle Discovery in September 1991, a new era in studying Earth's environment from space began. The crew of STS-48 describes the mission in this post-flight film, which includes an beautiful nighttime flyover of the United States.