MUOS-3 satellite ready for launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The third MUOS satellite for improving secure mobile satellite communications for the military is ready for launch in Florida.

Lockheed Martin, who made the satellite for the U.S. Navy, said the Mobile User Objective System satellite will be carried into orbit on Tuesday evening from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

"The launch of MUOS-3, and the near-term certification of our fourth and final Radio Access Facility, brings us to the brink of the global coverage we anticipate for MUOS communications," said Iris Bombelyn, vice president of Narrowband Communications at Lockheed Martin.

"To deliver a satellite like MUOS is no small task and the team worked around the clock and through every holiday. We are honored to do so, because we know that our warfighters never stop in their own mission to keep us safe."

The constellation of MUOS satellites operates like a smart phone network and provides users on-demand, beyond-line-of-sight capability to transmit and receive high-quality voice and mission data on a high-speed Internet Protocol-based system.

MUOS satellites carry two payloads to ensure access to UHF narrowband communications as well as new capabilities. Once in operation they will provide 16 times the capacity of the legacy UHF system now in use.