Approaching inclement weather on the Atlantic coast of Florida on Wednesday pushed back the scheduled launch of WGS-3, the Air Force’s third Wideband Global Satellite Communications spacecraft, by 24 hours, according to Air Force Space Command. The new launch window is now Thursday from 7:22 p.m. to 8:43 p.m. East Coast time, the command said in a release. WGS-3 will be carried into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket fired from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. It will reside in orbit over the eastern Atlantic.
The Pentagon awarded a contract worth over $2 billion for the next batch of F-35 engines to Pratt & Whitney on June 5. The deal for Lot 17 F135 engines, totaling $2.02 billion, is expected to be completed by December 2025.