The United Launch Alliance today is scheduled to launch into space, aboard its Atlas V rocket, the first Wideband Global Satellite for the U.S. Air Force Space Command. The United Launch Alliance has headquarters in Centennial and operations in Jefferson County, while the Air Force Space Command is based in Colorado Springs.
The satellite will be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Previously scheduled to launch earlier this year, it was rescheduled for Tuesday but was delayed.
The satellite, called WGS SV-1, is the first in the Wideband Global Satcom system, part of a satellite communications system for troops in the field that will eventually include five satellites. It will replace the Defense Department’s aging satellite communication system.
The Milsatcom Systems Wing at the Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base developed the WGS program.
