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do not have long lives. Changes in threats and the needs of joint warfighters drive home that the Air Force’s aging satellite fleet needs updating. This means AFSPC must not only deploy and operate its satellites, but also find ways to improve them. “The Air Force has made, and is making, strides to develop new systems and extend the life of existing systems, but there is still a need for new ways of developing and deploying space capabilities,” General Kehler said. One way AFSPC is doing this is by improving the technology of satellites launched into orbit above the earth. One example is the new Wideband Global SATCOM, or WGS, satellite, a military communications satellite that was first launched into geosynchro- nous orbit in 2007. Before the launch of the WGS, the Air Force operated nine Defense Satellite Communications Systems Phase III satellites to provide secure voice and high-rate data capabilities to military agen- cies across the globe. “The DSCS satellite is really a great workhorse,” said Col. Jay Moody, deputy director of requirements for Headquarters AFSPC. However, the newer WGS satellite is already proving its worth and outpacing its older peer. “One WGS satellite has more capacity than all of the DSCS sat- ellites in orbit right now,” Colonel Moody said. “This is a tremen- dous improvement in capability, not only for the Air Force, but for the joint warfighter.” The WGS not only provides more bandwidth; it does so at a lower cost. Each of the nine DSCS costs an estimated $200 million, while the one WGS currently in orbit costs an estimated $300 million. When Galileo stared deep into the sky through his telescope centuries ago, he must have been amazed by the thousands of stars he saw glittering in the eyepiece. He must have been thrilled at the prospects space offered as he spent days upon days cataloguing stars and their constellations. If he were to look through that same telescope today, he would see a host of new stars and constellations – ones that twinkle with a different light and move unnaturally, steered by machinery and software. These “stars” are part of the Air Force’s newest fleet, its space armada of satellites. And they’re not just for looking at through a tele- scope; they provide a wide range of communication, navigation and defense capabilities to the U.S. military and various other agencies. The Air Force uses these satellites to guide bombs on target, provide real-time reconnaissance, help defend the U.S. from mis- sile attack and give special operations teams the ability to talk to combatant commanders who may be separated by thousands of miles. In essence, the capabilities satellite technology brings to the table are re-shaping how wars are fought. “Space power has helped shape the American approach to warfare; it gives our warfighters a decisive advantage,” said Gen. C. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. “Without space, military opera- tions would be far less precise, focused, timely, coordinated and efficient, and far more costly.” Capabilities aside, unlike their celestial counterparts, satellites Travis Air Force Base, Calif., aircrews and Boeing employees offload a Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft container from a C-5 Galaxy at the Kennedy Space Shuttle Landing Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Aircrew of the 22nd Airlift Squadron first departed Travis and met with Boeing employees in Southern California, where the container was uploaded, then flown to Kennedy Space Center. The equipment was offloaded immediately by a pre-positioned offload team. www.AIRMANonline.af.mil 22