The launch of a Delta IV rocket carrying the seventh Wideband Global Satellite communications spacecraft was moved to Thursday due to “predicted weather conditions and the potential for high winds during the launch countdown,” announced United Launch Alliance. The 40-minute launch window now opens at 8:07 p.m. from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., according to the release. WGS-7 is the first spacecraft procured under a commercial-style contract with Boeing that will save an estimated $100 million over the program, according to a June 17 release. WGS-7 through WGS-10 are jointly funded by partners Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. The previous WGS satellite completed on-orbit checks in 2013.
The Air Force has made progress integrating its own kill webs and figuring out how to break the enemy's, but its partnership with industry on the issue has been hampered by programmatic silos and classification issues, executives from three of the biggest U.S. defense contractors said this month.