WGS-4 readied for January launch

Boeing has shipped its fourth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to undergo final preparations for a scheduled January launch.

The new WGS satellite will join three others that are already on orbit and carrying the bulk of satellite communications traffic for the armed forces and other government agencies.

Built at Boeing's El Segundo manufacturing facility, WGS-4 is the first Block II WGS satellite.

The new series adds performance upgrades such as a switchable 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 to the US Department of Defense.

With the addition of WGS-4, all WGS satellites will continue to provide warfighters with instant, worldwide SATCOM connectivity.

"New airborne surveillance platforms are driving a need for higher data rates, and the upgrades on WGS-4 are designed specifically to meet these emerging requirements," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems.

WGS-4 will be placed into geosynchronous Earth orbit along with the three other WGS satellites that are operating over the Middle East, Pacific and Atlantic regions—Defpro.com