Mar 10 2003
From The Space Library
The newest Boeing Delta rocket, the Delta 4, launched the USA 1 67~ also known as the Defense Satellite Communications Systems Phase 3 (DSCSIII-A3), or Discus satellite~ into orbit, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The American geostationary military communications satellite was the first U.S. Air Force craft launched atop Boeing's newest Delta rocket, as well as the first mission for the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Program. The craft, a triaxially stabilized spacecraft with solar power of 1.24 kilowatts, operating at six superhigh frequencies between 40 and 85 megahertz, joined the DSCS III constellation of eight similar craft to provide very secure global links to the U.S. military. The launch of the Discus satellite featured the smallest of the Delta 4's several possible configurations, with two stages and no booster rocket. (Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 593, 1 April 2003, http://nssdc.GSFC.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spx593.html (accessed 28 August 2008); Reuters, “Delta 4 Sends Up Its First U.S. Air Force Satellite,” 10 March 2003.
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