USA-291
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WGS SV-10
Wideband Global SATCOM-10
 Artist's impression of a WGS-10 satellite in orbit | |
| Names | WGS-10 WGS SV-10 Wideband Global SATCOM-10 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Military communications |
| Operator | United States Air Force / United States Space Force |
| COSPAR ID | 2019-014A |
| SATCAT no. | 44071 |
| Website | https://www.spaceforce.mil/ |
| Mission duration | 14 years (planned) 7 years and 10 days (in progress) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | WGS-10 |
| Spacecraft type | WGS Block II Follow-On |
| Bus | BSS-702HP |
| Manufacturer | Boeing Satellite Systems |
| Launch mass | 5,987 kg (13,199 lb) |
| Dry mass | 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) |
| Power | 11 kW |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 16 March 2019, 02:26 UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Delta IV M+ (5,4) (s/n D383) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC-37B |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| Entered service | 19 November 2019[2] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Transponders | |
| Band | X-band and Ka-band (enhanced) |
 WGS-10 mission patch | |
USA-291, or Wideband Global SATCOM 10 (WGS-10) is a United States military communications satellite operated by the United States Air Force as part of the Wideband Global SATCOM program. Launched in 2019, it was the tenth WGS satellite to reach orbit. It is in geostationary orbit. WGS-10 was procured by the United States Air Force.[3]
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.[4]
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.[3]
Just one WGS satellite provides more SATCOM capacity than the entire legacy Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) constellation.[4]
As the backbone of the U.S. military's global satellite communications, Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite system provides flexible, high-capacity communications for the Nation's warfighters through procurement and operation of the satellite constellation and the associated control systems. WGS provides worldwide flexible, high data rate and long haul communications for the Department of Defense (DoD), governmental organizations and international partners.[4]
