Air Force meteorologists are expecting good weather to launch the Delta 4 rocket with a military communications satellite when the sun goes down Friday evening at Cape Canaveral.
This collection of photographs and videos shows the Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite No. 9 being encapsulated in the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 nose cone and hoisted atop the rocket for launch March 17 at 7:44 p.m. EDT (2344 GMT).
A military communications satellite, built with international funding from Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and New Zealand, has been stacked atop a Delta 4 rocket to launch into a worldwide information-relay network operated by the U.S.
The next satellite for the U.S. military’s communications network, this one purchased by five international allies, has arrived in Florida for its launch in March atop a Delta 4 rocket.