Boeing Co. completed thermal vacuum testing for the first of the Wideband Gapfiller Satellites. The tests, conducted throughout a two-month period, evaluated the spacecraft’s ability to withstand the extreme temperatures of space.

Boeing is under contract with the U.S. Air Force to build three Wideband Gapfiller communications satellites and the service has authorized Boeing to begin work on a fourth. The first spacecraft is scheduled to be launched in June.