The Air Force’s planned launch of its second wideband global satcom satellite has been pushed back to no earlier than next week after the scheduled liftoff of a GPS satellite, which is currently set for March 24. Originally scheduled for launch on March 13 from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., the WGS-2 mission was pushed back to March 14, due to the delay in the liftoff of the space shuttle Discovery, and then subsequently slipped to March 17. The liftoff attempt on March 17 was scrubbed when an anomalous leak rate was discovered in the Centaur upper-stage oxidizer valve of the host Atlas V booster as the rocket stood on the launch pad. Air Force officials say because of the time needed to fix the problem, the WGS-2 mission will not take place prior to launch of the GPS satellite. The Air Force placed WGS-1 in space in October 2007. It became operational last April. Overall six WGS satellites are planned to replace the current defense satellite communications system constellation. (Includes Cape Canaveral March 18 report and later update.)
NATO Allied Air Command is making moves now for its member nations’ air forces to be able to service each others’ fighters, fly them with each others’ weapons, and integrate more closely together than they have in decades, a top official said April 24—ahead of an influx of F-35s and a coming…