USA-298

USA-298, also known as Advanced Extremely High Frequency 6 or AEHF-6, is a military communications satellite operated by the United States Space Force (USSF). It is the sixth of six satellite to be launched as part of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency program, which replaced the earlier Milstar system.

Satellite description
The USA-298 satellite was constructed by Lockheed Martin Space, and is based on the A2100 satellite bus. The satellite has a mass of 6168 kg and a design life of 14 years. It will be used to provide super high frequency (SHF) and extremely high frequency (EHF) communications for the United States Armed Forces, as well as those of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia.

Launch
USA-298 was launched by United Launch Alliance, aboard an Atlas V 551 flying from SLC-41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The launch occurred at 20:18:00 UTC on 26 March 2020, placing the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) with a perigee of 12543 km, an apogee of 30672 km, and 9.95° inclination. The satellite was successfully deployed in this orbit about five and a half hours after launch.

TDO-2 satellite
Alongside AEHF-6, the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center launched an experimental 12U cubesat known as TDO-2 (Technology Demonstration Orbiter). The satellite was deployed, after 30 minutes in the flight, prior to AEHF-6, from a dispenser on the aft of the Centaur upper stage into an orbit with a perigee of 200 km and an apogee of 35459 km.