US launches advanced military communications satellite
The United States Navy has launched an advanced tactical communications satellite which is designed to help US military forces stationed in different bases around the world.
An unmanned Atlas V rocket carried the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite into space before dawn on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s launchpad, in Florida.
The satellite was the fourth of its kind and is designed to further expand the MUOS communications system, which is supposed “to significantly improve ground communications for U.S. forces on the move," according to a statement by Lockheed Martin, its manufacturer.
The communication system involves five MUOS satellites that will eventually assume a geosynchronous orbit above the Earth.
The US Navy launched its first two MUOS satellites in 2012 and 2013. The third one was launched in January this year and is yet to pass tests before going fully operational.
The mission was overseen by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a US launch provider.
"The MUOS works like a smartphone network in space, vastly improving secure satellite communications for mobile US forces," Navy Commander Paul Benishek said in a ULA live broadcast just after liftoff.
According to the Pentagon, in 2010 the United States had a total of 662 military bases in 38 foreign countries. Washington also has an active military presence in nearly 150 countries.
The United States has more than 64,000 troops stationed in Europe alone, most of them in Germany, Italy and Britain.
The launch was originally scheduled for August 31, but was delayed until September 2, due to bad weather. The fifth MUOS satellite is expected to launch in 2016.
Washington’s plans to expand its military capabilities into space have been met with concerns from its arch rival, Russia.
Earlier in June, Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed serious concern about Washington’s possible use of force and deployment of weapons in space.
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