CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. --
The Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite rolled out to Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad at 10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 15. A live feed will begin 20 minutes prior to the launch, concluding approximately 45 minutes following launch. A simulcast of the broadcast can be viewed at http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/multimedia_webcasts.html.
The launch of AEHF-4 satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle is set for Oct. 17, with the launch window opening at 12:15 a.m. EDT.
AEHF is a joint service satellite communications system which will provide survivable, global, secure, protected, and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea, and air assets. The AEHF system is the follow-on to the Milstar system, augmenting, improving and expanding the Department of Defense's Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) architecture.
The AEHF team is led by the United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s MILSATCOM Systems Directorate, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is the AEHF prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems as the payload developer and manufacturer. Air Force Space Command operates the AEHF system.