Boeing officials say the company has completed key dynamic environmental tests for the first of three Wideband Gapfiller Satellites. The tests, they said Thursday, confirm the spacecraft’s structural design and mechanical integrity. Boeing expects to launch the first WGS in mid 2007.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.