Boeing

A Boeing-led industry team has received $336.4 million in U.S. Air Force funding options to build the first two Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS) spacecraft and to procure long-lead equipment for the third satellite. Boeing Satellite Systems, the satellite-manufacturing arm of Boeing Space and Communications, will build the Boeing 702 model satellites in El Segundo, Calif. WGS spacecraft will feature unique commercial capabilities that Boeing has developed, including phased array antennas, as shown in the close-up here, and digital signal processing technology, combined into a powerful, flexible architecture. The first satellite is scheduled to launch in early 2004, with the second one to follow in late 2004.