[10-30-07 – Satellite Today] The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite is ready for environmental testing, Lockheed Martin announced Oct. 30.
    The spacecraft has completed the baseline integrated system test, which was conducted from July 27 to Oct. 23 at Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems facility. The test characterized the performance of the integrated satellite and established a performance baseline prior to entering environmental testing, which includes acoustic and thermal vacuum testing.  
    "Completion of this integrated satellite test is an important milestone in our goal to deploy this first of a new generation of military communications satellites next year," Leonard Kwiatkowski, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of military space programs, said in a statement. "We look forward to executing a disciplined environmental test phase and achieving mission success for our customer."
    Lockheed Martin will provide three AEHF satellites to the Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing, located at the Space and Missile Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. The satellites will provide greater total capacity than the entire Milstar constellation and offer higher channel data rates.