The WGS-4 was built by Boeing and designed to provide the U.S. military with high-speed satellite broadband communications. The satellite aims to relay high-resolution video, imagery, communications and other data at significantly faster rates than the U.S. Department of Defense’s legacy spacecraft, linking ground troops with command stations. The satellite also will be utilized in route tracking and data stream applications for unmanned aerial vehicles, joining three other wideband global spacecraft already in orbit.

   “This launch will be another important step in advancing communications capabilities for U.S. warfighters and allies around the world,” Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems Vice President Craig Cooning said in a statement.

   Boeing WGS Government Program Manager Luke Schaub said WGS-4 launch was the culmination of five years of work by a combined Boeing and government team. “This satellite represents the first of a new block of WGS vehicles, enhancing the Wideband Milsatcom capacity currently available to thousands of users around the globe and adding high-bandwidth support for a few high-priority users. We eagerly anticipate its operational availability to our warfighters this summer."

   The 6.5-ton satellite is scheduled to commence service to troops in the Middle East and Southwest Asia in 2013.

   ATK provided composite, propulsion and spacecraft technologies for the WGS-4 launch, representing the second time ULA’s Delta 4 medium-plus rocket featured four ATK 60-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM).

   ATK said the 53-foot-long motors were mounted in pairs on opposite sides of the rocket to provide more than 1.1 million pounds of thrust and deliver the WGS-4 satellite to its determined orbit. ATK has manufactured 51 GEM-60 boosters for the Delta 4 launch vehicle since the initial flight in 2002

   “The Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne-built RS-68 is the largest hydrogen-fueled engine in the world. ATK designed and produced the nozzle’s thermal protection material, which is capable of shielding the nozzle from the extreme heat of launch when external temperatures can exceed 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit,” ATK said in a company statement.

   WGS-4 is the first of 12 launches planned from Cape Canaveral this year.