The U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing supported the United Launch Alliance's 100th launch, an Atlas V 421 flying the Morelos-3 communications satellite for Mexico's Secretariat of Communications and Transportation on Oct. 2. from Launch Complex 41 here Friday OCt 2 at 6:28 a.m. EDT.

"Our capabilities in space have always been, and will continue to be, leveraged through partnerships with industry," said Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, 45th Space Wing commander. "I am very proud of our team and their support of ULA's historic record number of launches since 2006. We are the Nation's premier gateway to space and we stand ready to support."

Lockheed Martin's Commercial Launch Services provided the Atlas V rocket that carried the Morelos-3 to its destination in space. The satellite is a part of the Mexsat constellation of satellites that delivers advanced telecommunications throughout Mexico, providing secure communications for Mexico's national security needs in addition to providing communications to rural zones, as a complement to other existing networks.

Eastern Range instrumentation provides radar tracking, telemetry, communications, command/control sites, camera and optical sites, and other support capabilities such as meteorology. Instrumentation is necessary to safely and successfully conduct civil, commercial, and national security spacelift operations and ballistic missile tests and evaluation. Eastern Range assets are based on dependable designs and technology and are arrayed in a highly efficient architecture designed to ensure safety of the launch environment and the public at large.

Boeing Geomobile Satellite Joining Mexico's Advanced Mexsat System
El Segundo, CA - A Boeing 702HP satellite launched launched Friday will soon be part of the world's most capable and advanced mobile satellite system. The satellite, named Morelos-3, is transmitting initial on-orbit signals as it makes its way to its final orbital location within Mexico's new Mexsat system.

The Ministry of Communications and Transportation commissioned Mexsat - a state-of-the-art satellite-based mobile telecommunications system. Mexsat increases communications capabilities for national security, civil, and humanitarian efforts, providing 3G+ voice and data services to mobile terminals across Mexico and its surrounding waters. The satellite will be operated by Telecomunicaciones de Mexico (Telecomm) on behalf of the Mexican government from two highly developed satellite control centers in Mexico.

"This latest milestone represents Boeing's fourth generation of satellites for Mexico and underscores how our satellites' capabilities improve daily and emergency communications," said Mark Spiwak, president, Boeing Satellite Systems International.

Boeing is responsible for the design, development and delivery of this integrated system, comprised of a fixed service satellite and two Boeing geomobile satellites, two ground stations in Mexico for network and satellite control, and prototype user terminals. The first Boeing-built satellite for the Mexsat system launched in May 2015, but was lost due to a launch vehicle failure.