Boeing set to build 12th wideband satellite communications (SATCOM) spacecraft for high-data-rate links
LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Satellite communications (SATCOM) experts at the Boeing Co. will build the 12th spacecraft of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system under terms of a $439.6 million order announced last week.
Officials of the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., are asking the Boeing Defense, space & Security segment in El Segundo, Calif., to build and launch WGS space vehicle 12.
WGS is the successor to the Defense Satellite Communications System-III, and is the backbone of U.S. military global satellite communications. One WGS satellite has about 12 times the bandwidth of a DSCS-III satellite; just one WGS satellite provides more SATCOM capacity than the entire DSCS constellation.
The WGS constellation provides flexible, high-capacity high-data-rate and long-haul communications for the nation's warfighters. In addition to providing global SATCOM for Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen, the WGS provides SATCOM capability to the White House Communication Agency, the U.S. State Department, international partners, and other special users. International partners participating on the WGS program are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and New Zealand.
The wideband SATCOM system has three principal segments: space segment (satellites), control segment (operators) and terminal segment (users). WGS satellites are the U.S. military's highest-capacity communications satellites. The on-orbit WGS constellation today comprises 10 satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The first WGS satellite was launched in October 2007.
There are three Block I satellites (launched in October 2007, April 2009, December 2009); and three WGS Block II satellites (launched in January 2012, May 2013, and August 2013). The eighth WGS satellite launched in December 2016; the ninth in March 2017; and the 10th in March 2019. Boeing is scheduled to complete the 11th WGS satellite this year.
Each WGS satellite provides service in the X and Ka frequency bands, with the ability to cross-band between the two frequencies onboard the satellite. WGS augments the one-way Global Broadcast Service (GBS) service through new two-way Ka-band service.
For more information contact Boeing Defense, Space & Security online at www.boeing.com/company/about-bds, or the Space Force Space Systems Command at www.ssc.spaceforce.mil.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
