Military Communications Satellite Built by Lockheed Martin Achieves 10 Years in Service

February 26, 2010 by Jeffrey Bradford · Comment
Filed under: Lockheed Martin, Syndicated Industry News, space 
Military Communications Satellite Built by Lockheed Martin Achieves 10 Years in Service
February 26, 2010 1:23:00 PM

SUNNYVALE, Calif., -- The U.S. Air Force's Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) B8 satellite, built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), has surpassed its 10-year design life of on-orbit service in providing secure and reliable communications capabilities for the warfighter.


Launched from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 20, 2000, the B8 satellite is one of 14 DSCS III spacecraft designed and built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the MILSATCOM Systems Wing at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.


The satellite is also the first of four DSCS III satellites to feature Service Life Enhancement Program (SLEP) upgrades that enabled a 200-percent increase in communication capacity over original DSCS III spacecraft with its 50-watt Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers.


"The high performance and longevity of the DSCS III constellation is direct testimony to a joint U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin team dedicated to providing the warfighter with secure and reliable satellite communications," said Kevin Bilger, Lockheed Martin's vice president and general manager of Global Communications Systems. "The DSCS III constellation has provided the Department of Defense with its core communications capability for over two decades and will continue to make a significant contribution to our national security well into the future."


The system provides uninterrupted secure voice and high-data rate communications to Department of Defense users; essential tools in monitoring events and deploying and sustaining forces anywhere in the world. In 2009, the overall DSCS III constellation surpassed 200 years of on-orbit operations, the longest total operational experience of any U.S. military communications satellite constellation.


Lockheed Martin is also progressing on the Department of Defense's highly secure communications satellite system, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) program. As the successor to Milstar, AEHF will increase data rates by a factor of five, permitting transmission of more tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. The first AEHF spacecraft has completed final testing and is planned for delivery to the Air Force in second quarter 2010.

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Boeing Completes On-Orbit Handover of 2nd Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite to US Air Force –Press Release

June 17, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Boeing, Business Line, Companies, Events, IT, Press Releases, Satellites, Services, U.S. Air Force, space 

Boeing Completes On-Orbit Handover of 2nd Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite to US Air Force

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 17, 2009 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] on June 15 successfully transferred control of the second Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite to the U.S. Air Force, which will monitor and control the new satellite from Schriever Air Force Base, Colo. WGS-2 was declared ready for Department of Defense operational testing after rigorous ground testing, an April 3 launch and a thorough on-orbit checkout. WGS satellites are the Defense Department’s highest-capacity
communications satellite, offering a major increase in bandwidth for airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines.

“The Air Force could not be more pleased with the performance of the WGS government-industry team and, of course, the performance of this important satellite,” said Brig. Gen. Samuel Greaves, commander of the Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) Systems Wing at the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles. “We have high
expectations in the MILSATCOM Systems Wing, and this team has once again proven that it is fully capable of meeting that challenge.”

The WGS system will augment and eventually replace the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) constellation. WGS-1, which Boeing delivered to the Air Force in January 2008, and WGS-2 together are capable of handling more than 25 times the capacity of the entire DSCS constellation. The Defense Department has ordered six WGS satellites
from Boeing and is making plans to buy more satellites to address growing SATCOM bandwidth needs worldwide.

“The WGS-2 handover is another important step in our overall mission to supply a system that will provide a quantum leap in wideband satellite communications worldwide,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. “Boeing is proud to have delivered another WGS satellite that is meeting and, in many cases, exceeding all requirements for our Air Force customer.”

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.

# # #
Contact:
Diana Ball
Space & Intelligence Systems
562-797-4303
diana.ball@boeing.com

Marc Selinger
Space & Intelligence Systems
703-414-6138
marc.selinger@boeing.com

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