Artist's concept of WGS satellites.
Boeing’s Protected Satcom Prototype (PTS-P) payload is scheduled to fly on the 11th Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite, Boeing said April 13.
The system is scheduled to launch in 2024 and be tested on orbit a year later, after which time the payload would be available for operations.
“The joint force is relying on us to deploy capabilities that enable secure communications in a prolific jamming environment,” said Charlotte Gerhart, Space Systems Command’s Tactical SATCOM division chief for the U.S. Space Force. “The Boeing [prototype] payload hosted on WGS-11 is an exciting leap forward for new warfighter capabilities.”
Boeing and Northrop Grumman both won contracts in 2021 to develop PSP systems.
Boeing’s payload is designed for resilience, in that it can geolocate jamming attacks and nullify them through frequency hopping and other techniques to ensure that the wideband communications enabled by WGS reach end users without interruption. It is based on the company’s 702X satellite software-driven technology that allows for better signal protection and performance.
After the on-orbit demonstration, the prototype payload will be available to transition for operational use.
“This capability sets the stage for future generations of protected wideband systems,” said Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing’s Space Mission Systems.
