The first advanced extremely high frequency satellite is set to launch on Saturday from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., according to officials with the 45th Space Wing there. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will carry AEHF-1, a military communications satellite, into orbit. Lockheed Martin, the satellite’s maker, announced Tuesday that AEHF-1 has been encapsulated in the rocket’s nose cone fairing for the upcoming launch. AEHF spacecraft will supplant the current Milstar constellation to provide survivable, global, and jam resistant communications to US and allied military personnel. Earlier this month, Lockheed announced that the AEHF ground control segment is now operational. (Cape Canaveral release)
The $4.26 billion Small Business Innovation Research contracting program widely used by the Air Force went into hibernation as the government shut down Oct. 1, but unless lawmakers strike a deal on reforms, the program could reach an abrupt end.


