MOSCOW, May 25 (RIA Novosti) – A Delta IV rocket successfully launched a Wideband Global SATCOM 5 satellite from Cape Canaveral on 20:27 EDT (4:27 Moscow time) Friday, media reported.
The US Air Force’s satellite is headed for a geostationary orbit off the east coast of the United States and will take several months to reach it, Spaceflightnow.com said.
The launch, conducted by Lockheed Martin/Boeing’s joint venture United Launch Alliance, was postponed 24 hours due to problems with the helium pressurization system at the launch pad, Satnews.com said.
The satellite, which costs $342 million and weighs almost 6,000 kilograms (13,200 pounds), is the fifth installment in a high capacity communications system co-developed by US and Australian defense agencies. It can transmit data at a bandwidth of 3.6 gigabytes per second.
The first launch in the project was conducted in 2007. One more satellite in the system is due to launch in August, and four more are in the works.
(The article has been amended to correct date in the lede.)
