Originally published July 24, 2015.
The seventh Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) has been successfully launched into orbit.
WGS-7 was lofted aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV at Cape Canaveral July 23Wednesday. The satellite, the first of the Block II spacecraft in the WGS program, has sent signals confirming a successful launch, according to a NASA announcement.
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WGS-7 offers 17 percent more secure communications bandwidth than its predecessors, said a news release by manufacturer Boeing. "By utilizing commercial processes, we are able to offer greater capacity at a lower spacecraft cost, resulting in more than $150 million in savings for WGS-7 through WGS-10," said Dan Hart, vice president at Boeing's government space systems division.
WGS-8, the next of the 10 satellites, is set for launch in late 2016.
