A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying the seventh Wideband Global Satellite communications spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., on July 23, according to a USAF release. WGS-7 is slated to enter operations in early 2016 after manufacturer Boeing completes on-orbit testing. “The WGS constellation continues to provide significant added capacity to our DOD space communications architecture,” said Lt. Gen. Sam?uel G?reaves, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center and USAF program executive officer for space. “WGS delivers crucial wideband communication to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and international partners around the globe.” Once cleared for operational use, the Air Force’s 3rd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., will control the satellite. (See also WGS-7 Launch Postponed Due to Weather.)
Retired Brig. Gen. Lawrence Boyd Anderson, who served as vice chairman of the board of the Air Force Association—now the Air & Space Forces Association—and the last chairman of the board of the Aerospace Education Foundation, died Feb. 6. He was 89.