Friday P.M. Update — JUST IN: The launch of the Air Force’s Delta IV Wideband Global SATCOM-3 (WGS-3) mission is now scheduled for December 5 with a launch window of 7:23-8:47 p.m., EST. The faulty electronics card in a piece of ground support equipment used to monitor telemetry data was replaced and the Delta IV and WGS-3 spacecraft are ready for flight. The current weather forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather during the launch window.

Friday A.M. Update: The latest regarding the launch of the Air Force’s Delta IV Wideband Global SATCOM-3 (WGS-3) mission is now targeted for Saturday, December 5 with a launch window of 7:23-8:47 p.m. EST. After evaluating the situation, mission managers believe this will give the launch team the time required to replace an electronics card that is part of the ground equipment used to monitor telemetry data from the Delta IV and related systems for the launch. 

An anomaly with this monitoring system hardware led to the scrub of the first launch attempt December 3. The Delta IV and WGS-3 spacecraft are safe and secure.  

Historical Timeline — The launch of the U.S. Air Force’s Delta IV Wideband Global SATCOM-3 (WGS-3) mission was scrubbed this evening due to additional time required to trouble shoot an anomaly with a ground launch control system. A second launch attempt has been preliminarily rescheduled for Friday, December 4, with a launch window of 7:22 to 8:45 p.m. EST. 

The launch of the Air Force Delta IV Wideband Global SATCOM-3 mission scheduled for December 2nd has been delayed 24 hours, due to approaching inclement weather. The launch is officially rescheduled for December 3, with a window of 7:22 to 8:43 p.m. EST. WGS satellites are designed to provide high-capacity communications to our nation's military forces. They will augment and eventually replace the aging Defense Satellite Communication System, which has been the Department of Defense's backbone for satellite communications over the past two decades. The satellite provides a giant leap in communications bandwidth and technology. First launched in 2007, WGS will be a constellation of five satellites that will supply service for military leaders to command and control their tactical forces. WGS-3 will round out the remainder of the first phase of satellites.