An Air Force-industry team launched the first of the new advanced communication satellites, the Wideband Global SATCOM, at 8:22 pm on Oct. 10. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V boosted the WGS into orbit from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. The WGS spacecraft will replace the Defense Satellite Communication System satellites, providing a 10-fold increase in communications capacity, according to a release from WGS-maker Boeing. The new sat began sending signals about 47 minutes after launch, and Boeing controllers in California confirmed it is “healthy.” USAF must conduct on-orbit testing before declaring it operational, probably in early 2008.
Air Force Conducts Test Launch of Minuteman III ICBM
May 21, 2025
The Air Force tested an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif,. at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time May. 21. The successful test saw the missile equipped with a single reentry vehicle travel more than 4,200 miles to strike a test site near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall…