TECH

Delta IV delivers WGS-9 military satellite to orbit

James Dean
FLORIDA TODAY

A Delta IV rocket bearing the Air Force’s 70th anniversary “breaking barriers” logo roared from Cape Canaveral Saturday night to deliver a military communications satellite to orbit.

The 217-foot United Launch Alliance rocket lit a main engine and four solid rocket motors at 8:18 p.m. to leap from Launch Complex 37 with 1.7 million pounds of thrust, about a half-hour later than planned after engineers resolved a launch pad arm problem.

At 9 p.m., the rocket deployed the ninth Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft, the latest addition to the Department of Defense’s highest-capacity space-based communications network.

Each WGS satellite provides 10 times more bandwidth than the entire constellation that preceded the program, supporting everything from tactical operations to drone video to communication between military leaders.

8;18 p.m. launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying the Air Force Wideband Global Satcom satellite WGS-9 from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The 215 foot tall Delta rocket has four solid boosters attached. Cell phones light up the beaches of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral as spectators photograph the launch.

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“WGS is just one of many examples of advances in military technology, and I can’t think of a better mission to recognize the Air Force’s 70th birthday,” said Bob Tarleton, director of military satellite communications systems at the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles.

International collaboration made the WGS-9 mission possible. Five allies in 2012 agreed to pay for the Boeing-built satellite, which have an average cost of $424 million.

The deal gave Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand access to the network proportional with their investment. Australia paid for the sixth satellite in the series.

“Military operations are increasingly dependent on capabilities based in space,” said Brig. Gen. Blaise Frawley of the Royal Canadian Air Force

Saturday’s launch was the second in three months for the WGS program, whose final satellite is expected to fly in late 2018. Options for a follow-on program are under review.

The launch was the second from Cape Canaveral in three days, following a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s 2 a.m. Thursday flight from Kennedy Space Center.

Another launch could be less than a week away, with ULA preparing to launch an Atlas V and International Space Station supplies at 9 p.m. Friday. The mission could move up a day, to Thursday, if Eastern Range becomes available.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean.