Lockheed Martin has integrated the spacecraft propulsion core structure and the payload module for the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite, the company announced June 18.

The Advanced EHF system is designed to provide global, highly secure, protected, survivable communications for all warfighters serving under the U.S. Department of Defense.

The milestone allows the team of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, as prime contractor, and Northrop Grumman Space Technology, the payload supplier, to begin system level environmental and acceptance testing in preparation for launch in mid-2008.