Boeing hands over WGS satellite to Air Force
Boeing Co. said Monday that it completed the on-orbit handover to the Air Force of the first of six El Segundo-built Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellites.
The Air Force's 3rd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., will monitor and control the satellite.
Boeing: "WGS-1 is the U.S. Department of Defense's highest capacity communications satellite, offering a quantum leap in communications bandwidth for airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines. The second and third WGS Block I satellites are scheduled for launch in 2008. The six-satellite WGS system will augment and eventually replace the Defense Satellite Communications System constellation and reduce the U.S. government's reliance on commercial satellite communications services."