From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States Space Force military communications satellite constellation
USA-204
, or
Wideband Global SATCOM 2
(
WGS-2
) is a United States military
communications satellite
which is operated by the
United States Air Force
as part of the
Wideband Global SATCOM
programme. Launched in 2009, it was the second WGS satellite to reach orbit, and operates in
geostationary orbit
at a
longitude
of 60° East (
Indian Ocean
).
[2]
Overview
[
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]
The WGS system is a constellation of highly capable military communications satellites that leverage cost-effective methods and technological advances in the communications satellite industry. The WGS system is composed of three principal segments: Space Segment (satellites), Control Segment (operators) and Terminal Segment (users). Each WGS satellite provides service in multiple frequency bands, with the unprecedented ability to cross-band between the two frequencies on board the satellite. WGS augments other satellites.
[3]
In early 2001, a satellite communications industry team led by
Boeing Satellite Systems
was selected to develop the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS) system as successors to the
Defense Satellite Communications System
(DSCS) series of communications satellites. This satellite communications system is intended to support the
warfighter
with newer and far greater capabilities than provided by current systems. In March 2007, the acronym WGS was changed to Wideband Global SATCOM.
[4]
Just one WGS satellite provides more SATCOM capacity than the entire legacy Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) constellation.
[3]
Satellite description
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]
Built by
Boeing Satellite Systems
, WGS-2 is based on the
BSS-702
satellite bus
. It had a mass at launch of 5,987 kilograms (13,199 lb), and was expected to operate for at least fourteen years. The spacecraft is equipped with two
solar arrays
to generate power for its communications payload, which consists of cross-band
X
and
Ka band
transponders. Propulsion is provided by an R-4D-15
apogee motor
, with four
XIPS-25
ion engines
for stationkeeping.
[4]
Launch
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]
USA-204 was launched by
United Launch Alliance
(ULA), using an
Atlas V
421
launch vehicle
. The launch occurred from
Space Launch Complex 41
at the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
at 00:31:00 UTC on 4 April 2009,
[1]
and successfully placed the satellite into a
geosynchronous transfer orbit
, from which the it raised itself into
geostationary orbit
using its onboard propulsion system. The satellite was designated USA-204 under the
US military's designation system
, and received the
International Designator
2009-017A and
Satellite Catalog Number
34713.
[1]
[5]
References
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January
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February
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March
| |
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April
| |
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May
| |
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June
| |
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July
|
- TerreStar-1
- Kosmos 2451
,
Kosmos 2452
,
Kosmos 2453
- RazakSAT
- STS-127
(
JEM-EF
,
AggieSat 2
,
BEVO-1
,
Castor
,
Pollux
)
- Kosmos 2454
,
Sterkh No.11L
- Progress M-67
- DubaiSat-1
,
Deimos-1
,
UK-DMC 2
,
Nanosat-1B
,
AprizeSat-3
,
AprizeSat-4
|
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August
| |
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September
|
- USA-207 / PAN
- HTV-1
- Meteor-M No.1
,
BLITS
,
Sterkh-2
,
SumbandilaSat
,
UGATUSAT
,
Universitetsky-Tatyana-2
- Nimiq 5
- Oceansat-2
,
Rubin 9.1
,
Rubin 9.2
,
BeeSat-1
,
UWE-2
,
ITU-pSat1
,
SwissCube-1
- USA-208
/
STSS-Demo 1
,
USA-209
/
STSS-Demo 2
- Soyuz TMA-16
|
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October
| |
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November
| |
---|
December
| |
---|
Launches are separated by dots ( ? ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ).
Crewed flights
are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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Block I
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Block II
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Block II Follow-On
| |
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