Boeing shipped the sixth Wideband Global Satellite Communications spacecraft from the company’s manufacturing plant in El Segundo, Calif., to the Kennedy Space Center on the central Florida coast in preparation for its launch into space later this year, announced the company. The satellite left El Segundo on May 16 and arrived the next day in Florida, Boeing spokeswoman Cassaundra Bantly told the Daily Report on Monday. WGS-6 will undergo tests, fueling, and integration at Astrotech’s facility in Titusville before its launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, states the company’s release. The arrival of WGS-6 comes as the Air Force and its industry partners undertake final steps for Wednesday’s scheduled launch of WGS-5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral.
The Space Force is finalizing its first contracts for the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve and plans to award them early in 2025—giving the service access to commercial satellites and other space systems in times of conflict or crisis—officials said Nov. 21.