Delta IV boosts WGS-8 into orbit

On top of a Delta IV rocket, the $426 Million WGS-8 satellite was

launched into a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. The Delta IV blasted off the pad last night (Dec. 7th) at 6:53pm EST after igniting its main hydrogen-fueled engine and four strap-on solid rocket boosters. The spacecraft is called the Wideband Global SATCOM satellite 8, or WGS-8, which is a more advanced version of its predecessors with the first Wideband Digital Channelizer that doubles its capacity. WGS-8 can process data at 11 gigabytes per second with its advanced channeler compared to 6 gigabytes per second on the previous versions. With the solar arrays deployed, measured from tip-to-tip, the satellite has a larger wingspan than a Boeing 737, but smaller than a 747.