[Satellite TODAY 04-30-10] The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center has awarded a contract modification to United Launch Alliance (ULA) to launch the Advanced Extremely High Frequency-3 (AEHF-3) satellite aboard an Atlas 5 launch vehicle, the ULA announced April 29.

    The launch will take place no later than summer 2012 from Space Launch Complex-41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The rocket will use three Aerojet solid rocket motors, a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10A upper stage engine, a five-meter diameter upper stage and composite payload fairing.

    The AEHF-3 mission will be the third instalment for the AEHF system, which aims to provide greater capacity and channel data rates than that of the existing Milstar 2 communications satellites, supporting real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. 

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