U.S. launches its highest capacity military communications satellite

An antenna-covered communications spacecraft that will bring more bandwidth and capacity to the U.S. military’s global information grid than any single satellite ever before was successfully launched Wednesday atop a Delta 4 rocket. United Launch Alliance delivered the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite No. 8 into space for the U.S. Air Force following a 42-minute flight of the powerful rocket. The two-stage Delta 4 was fueled during an uneventful afternoon countdown, then lit its hydrogen-fed main engine and four side-mounted solid-propellant boosters to depart Cape Canaveral right on schedule at 6:53 p.m. EST (2353 GMT). More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 8)