....moved another step closer. Engineers completed the encapsulation procedure at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida on December 15th. The encapsulation of WGS-4 in the Delta IV launch vehicle payload fairing marks an important milestone for the spacecraft and launch campaign. The event marks completion of Air Force Satellite Control Network compatibility testing, payload and bus functional testing and propellant load.  The launch is scheduled for Jan. 19, 2012.

The U.S. Air Force's fourth Wideband Global satellite communication spacecraft arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Nov. 15. Photo by Capt. Joseph Maguadog, Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center.

Wideband Global SATCOM provides anytime, anywhere communication for the warfighter through broadcast, multicast, and point to point connections. WGS is the only military satellite communications system that can support simultaneous X- and Ka-band communications, with crossbanding that makes it transparent to the warfighter to communicate across terminal types.  WGS currently collects and routes real time data through more than 700 X-band, 3,100 Ka-band, and 400 switchable X/Ka-band terminals. WGS-1 launched on October 10, 2007, and U.S. Strategic Command accepted WGS-1 for operational use April 14, 2008.  WGS-2 launched on April 3, 2009, and began operational use on August 21, 2009.  WGS-3 launched on December 5, 2009, and began operational use June 25, 2010. WGS-4 will be the first Block II satellite with enhanced capabilities.