[Satellite Today 12-19-08] The U.S. Air Force officially awarded Boeing $233.8 million for the production of the sixth and final Wideband Global Satellite (WGS), the Air Force announced Dec. 17.
    The Air Force authorized Boeing to build the sixth WGS satellite in December 2007. Australia is funding the procurement as part of a cooperative agreement between the U.S. and Australian governments.
    WGS is the first operational satellite communications system supporting the government’s transformational communications architecture. Each satellite has the capacity to transmit information at rates of more than 3 gigabits per second — more than 10 times the capacity of the Defense Satellite Communications System.