The second GPS III satellite — nicknamed Magellan — is now at the launchpad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in preparation for liftoff on Aug. 22.
United Launch Alliance tweeted out an image of the encapsulated satellite on its way to the rocket.
The Lockheed Martin-built satellite was originally scheduled for launch on July 25, but the launch was pushed to Aug. 22 because of “an anomaly during component testing at a supplier that created a cross-over concern. Upon further evaluation, additional time is needed to replace and retest the component on the launch vehicle,” ULA said.
Launch Updates
The launch window on Aug. 22 will open at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 UTC) and extend to 9:27 a.m. EDT (1327 UTC), a 27-minute duration. ULA’s live countdown blog begins at 11:45 p.m. EDT (0345 UTC) on Aug. 21. The launch webcast starts at 8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 UTC).
GPS III SV02 will be the 29th and final flight of the Delta IV Medium rocket, the 73rd GPS launch by a ULA or heritage vehicle and marks ULA’s 135th mission.
GPS III SV02 is named Magellan in honor of the Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the Earth.
The satellite, encapsulated in the 4-meter-diameter composite payload fairing, was moved overnight last week from its processing facility to the seaside launchpad at a top speed never exceeding 5 mph.
The satellite was hauled by a motorized KAMAG Elevating Platform Transporter (EPT) that provided hydraulic leveling and precision positioning capabilities along the route. The EPT also towed a Portable Environmental Control System (PECS) trailer to supply conditioned air to the payload fairing during the trip.
Once parked in the hoistway on the backside of the Mobile Service Tower (MST), technicians used the crane system in the gantry the next morning to carefully lift the satellite onto the Delta IV rocket’s second stage to complete a successful vertical integration of the launch vehicle and payload. The fully assembled rocket now stands 207 feet tall.
A tip-to-tail electrical test of the combined payload and launch vehicle will occur next, an operation known as the Integrated Systems Test (IST). Once that is completed, the comprehensive process to verify flight readiness will begin in parallel to final vehicle closeouts for the launch targeted for Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 UTC).
ULA rockets have successfully launched 70 GPS satellites since 1978.
ULA technicians transport the GPS III satellite to the Delta IV launchpad. (Photo: United Launch Alliance)The Delta IV rocket leaves the the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) aboard a 36-wheel, diesel-powered transporter on May 28 and traveled to Space Launch Complex-37. The trip took 40 minutes. (Photo: ULA)
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a GPS III satellite launch contract to SpaceX. This is the third GPS III launch contract awarded; the previous two also were awarded to SpaceX.
SpaceX will receive a $290,594,130 firm-fixed-price contract for launch services to deliver three GPS III missions (1 base and 2 options) to the intended orbit using two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs).
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Jan. 14, 2017. (Photo: SpaceX)
The launch contract provides the government with a total launch solution for the GPS III mission, including launch vehicle production, mission integration, launch operations and spaceflight certification. The launches will take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station or Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
The GPS III missions are planned to launch between late 2019 and 2020.
“The three GPS III missions will deliver sustained, reliable GPS capabilities to America’s warfighters, our allies and civil users,” the U.S. Air Force said in a statement. GPS provides positioning, navigation and timing service to civil and military users worldwide.
In a second launch services contract, United Launch Alliance has been awarded a $351,839,510 firm-fixed-price contract for launch services to deliver Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-8 and AFSPC-12 satellites to the intended orbit.
This is the fourth competition under the current Phase 1A procurement strategy. Both launch service contract awards strike a balance between meeting operational needs and lowering launch costs through reintroducing competition for National Security Space missions, according to Los Angeles Air Force Base, which made the announcement.
“The competitive award of these two EELV launch service contracts directly supports Space and Missile Systems Center’s mission of delivering resilient and affordable space capabilities to our nation while maintaining assured access to space,” said Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, U.S. Air Force Program Executive Officer for Space and SMC commander.
SpaceX won two previous GPS III launch contracts, one awarded in March 2017 and one in April 2016.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 stands ready for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Air Force awarded a second contract for GPS III Launch Services to SpaceX.
SpaceX has won a second contract from the U.S. Air Force for launch services to deliver a GPS III satellite to its intended orbit.
SpaceX was awarded the $96,500,490 firm-fixed-price contract over the United Launch Alliance. ULA — a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security — did not compete for the first GPS III launch contract. That contract, worth $82.7 million, is expected to orbit a GPS satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket in May 2018.
According to the contract announcement, SpaceX will provide launch vehicle production, mission integration, launch operations, spaceflight worthiness and mission unique activities for a GPS III mission. The contract is being overseen by the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.
Work will be performed at Hawthorne, California; Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida; and McGregor, Texas. It is expected to be complete by April 30, 2019.
“The competitive award of the GPS III Launch Services contract to SpaceX directly supports SMC’s mission of delivering resilient and affordable space capabilities to our nation,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, leader of SMC.
The Air Force has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for launch services for the GPS III-3 mission, scheduled to launch in 2019. Proposals are due Sept. 19; the contract will be a standalone contract for a single GPS III launch.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX are expected to compete for the contract. In April, SpaceX was chosen to launch the GPS III-2 satellite in May 2018. ULA chose not to compete.
The RFP seeks an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service. The draft RFP was released on June 14 to obtain industry feedback to inform the Final RFP. After extensive industry engagements, the Final RFP was released on Aug. 3 with proposals due back to the Air Force no later than Sept. 19 in accordance with the solicitation instructions.
After evaluating proposals through a competitive, best-value source selection process, the Air Force will award a firm-fixed price contract that will provide the government with a total launch solution including launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operations for the GPS III-3 satellite.
Artist’s concept of the nextgen GPS III satellite (courtesy of the USAF).
The Air Force’s acquisition strategy for this solicitation achieves a balance between mission success/operational needs, and lowering launch costs, through reintroducing competition for national security space missions, the Air Force said in a press release.
“Launch system certification is a key element (high technical bar) within this solicitation to provide insight into the technical capabilities and rigorous processes that demonstrate a launch vehicle contractor’s ability to design, develop, manufacture, and launch national security space missions and contributes to the overall flight worthiness process,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center commander and Air Force program executive officer for Space. Prior to contract award, the contracting officer will verify that the Offeror has a certified launch system as part of a responsibility determination resulting in a high technical bar.
“Through this competitive solicitation for GPS III launch services, we hope to continue fostering competition in order to promote innovation and reduce cost to the taxpayer while maintaining our laser focus on mission success,” Greaves said.
GPS III is expected to provide improved anti-jamming capabilities as well as improved accuracy for precision, navigation, and timing. It will incorporate the common L1C signal which is compatible with the European Space Agency’s Galileo global navigation satellite system and compliment current services with the addition of new civil and military signals.
The first GPS III satellite undergoes system-level thermal vacuum testing. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
This is the second competitive launch service solicitation under the current Phase 1A procurement strategy. The Phase 1A procurement strategy reintroduces competition for national security space launch services. Under the previous Phase 1 strategy, ULA was the only certified launch provider. In 2013, ULA was awarded a sole-source contract for launch services as part of an Air Force “Block Buy” of 36 rocket cores that resulted in significant savings for the government through FY 2017.
In May 2015, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) was certified for EELV launches resulting in two launch service providers that are qualified to design, produce, qualify and deliver a launch capability and provide the mission assurance support required to deliver national security space satellites to orbit.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 stands ready for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Air Force awarded a contract for GPS III Launch Services to SpaceX.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded SpaceX the first competitively sourced National Security Space (NSS) launch services contract in more than a decade.
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) was awarded a contract for GPS III Launch Services. This is a firm-fixed price, standalone contract with a total value of $82,700,000.
SpaceX will provide the government with a total launch solution for the GPS-III satellite, which includes launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operations and spaceflight certification. The launch will be the second GPS III launch and is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in May 2018.
“This GPS III Launch Services contract award achieves a balance between mission success, meeting operational needs, lowering launch costs, and reintroducing competition for National Security Space missions,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Air Force Program Executive Officer for Space and SMC commander.
Another launch service provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA), chose not to compete for the contract.
GPS III is the next generation of GPS satellites that will introduce new capabilities to meet the higher demands of both military and civilian users. The satellite is expected to provide improved anti-jamming capabilities as well as improved accuracy for precision navigation and timing. It will incorporate the common L1C signal, which is compatible with the European Space Agency’s Galileo global navigation satellite system and compliment current services with the addition of new civil and military signals.
This is the first of nine competitive launch services planned in the FY 2016 President’s Budget Request under the current Phase 1A procurement strategy, which covers awards with FY 2015-2018 funding. The next solicitation for launch services will be for a second GPS III satellite. This award marks a milestone in the Air Force’s ongoing efforts to reintroduce a competitive procurement environment into the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program as directed by Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
The Phase 1A procurement strategy reintroduces competition for national security space launch services. Under the Phase 1 strategy, United Launch Alliance (ULA) was the only certified launch provider. In 2013, ULA was awarded a sole-source contract for launch services as part of an Air Force “block buy” of 36 rocket cores that resulted in significant savings for the government through FY 2017.
In May 2015, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) was certified for EELV launches resulting in two launch service providers that are capable to design, produce, qualify, and deliver a launch capability and provide the mission assurance support required to deliver national security space satellites to orbit. The certified baseline configuration of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Launch System to Falcon 9 Upgrade was recently updated for use in National Security Space (NSS) missions.
The Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center, located at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force’s center of excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. Its portfolio includes the Global Positioning System, military satellite communications, defense meteorological satellites, space launch and range systems, satellite control networks, space based infrared systems and space situational awareness capabilities.
The U.S. Air Force plans to launch the 12th — and final — satellite in the Block IIF series of modernized GPS spacecraft this week. Originally scheduled to launch Feb. 3, the launch has been moved to Friday, Feb. 5. According to United Launch Alliance (ULA), the cause for the schedule slip was “concerns over the integrity of electrical connectors on the Atlas V booster.”
The Air Force has produced 12 IIF satellites, featuring new clocks, new civil and military signals, and other upgrades for enhanced accuracy and robustness. Currently, 31 GPS satellites are in operational service, including 11 Block IIF satellites and 20 spacecraft from previous generations.
The Air Force Second Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS) indicates that IIF-12 (SVN-70/PRN-32) will replace SVN-41/PRN-14 in the F plane, slot F1. SVN-41 will be re-phased from the F1 location to a newly defined F7 node (GLAN = 45°) once SVN-70 is set healthy.
Meanwhile, SVN-23/PRN-32 (IIA-10) will be taken out of the operational constellation before IIF-12’s launch and sent to Launch, Anomaly, Resolution, and Disposal Operations (LADO).
The Air Force’s twelfth Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite is encapsulated inside an Atlas V 4-meter payload fairing. (Photo: ULA)
(Photo: ULA)
(Photo: ULA)
(Photo: ULA)
(Photo: ULA)
(Photo: ULA)
(Photo: ULA)
(Photo: ULA)
“SVN-23, launched on Nov. 26, 1990, has been an ‘Iron Bird’ workhorse in the E-plane and has successfully served the world’s GPS users for over 25 years,” said Rick Hamilton, CGSIC Executive Secretariat, in an email. “This is over 18 years past its designed service life, having operationally outlasted (and, in many cases, outperformed) its peers on-orbit due to the diligent efforts of the men and women of the U.S. Air Force.”
PRN-04 is tentatively scheduled for assignment to the first of the new generation of GPS-III satellites, available for launch sometime in 2017.
Date/Site/Launch Time: Wednesday, Feb. 03, 2016, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 19-minute launch window opens at 8:38 a.m. EST, and a ULA webcast will start at 8:18 a.m. EST.
Rocket/Payload: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 will launch the GPS IIF-12 mission for the U.S. Air Force.
The late, great, oft-quoted Yogi Berra, in an interview shortly before his passing, was quoted as saying “I never said most of the things I said.” For our purposes, let’s concentrate on one of his most famous quotes: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
On to GPS. I use the term GPS in a ubiquitous PNT (position, navigation and timing) sense for simplicity, because most people today use the term in a universal sense, similar to how we say “Google It” no matter which search engine we’re actually using.
Today, GPS is indeed at a crossroads, and there are multiple paths or avenues to follow — or Courses of Action (COA), as the government likes to say. Fortunately, most of you reading this fully realize GPS is so much more than just an atomic reference system in MEO, or Medium Earth Orbit. Let’s review the various GPS programs and see how they’re faring.
GPS III
Let’s be conventional and start with the hardware, the actual satellite bus (vehicle) being built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in its Waterton facility in the beautiful foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Littleton just west of Denver, Colorado.
In an October 2015 speech before the International Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem, Israel, LMCO Chairman, President and CEO Marillyn Hewson stated the following in a marvelous speech entitled “There are No Borders in Space: International Cooperation Will Drive the New Space Age:”
“We must focus on three priorities for the future of space. The first is space as an instrument to create global industrial partnership. Second is space as a driver of economic growth. And third is space as an opportunity to inspire the next generation of innovators.”
Chairman Hewson concentrated on the future of space, as are we, and probably due to her venue, she naturally chose to focus on international cooperation. She went on to say this about GPS specifically:
“GPS III, the next-generation of the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System, will share a new, common civil signal with other international navigation satellites like Galileo and GLONASS. That means people around the world will have more accurate and reliable positioning data and connectivity from a truly global positioning constellation.”
Speaking about space capabilities and opportunities in general, she said:
“Space-based technologies are ubiquitous today. Want to find an address? Find out the weather forecast? Talk to someone on the other side of the world? The fact is, space is already an enabler of economic growth. And with today’s innovations combined with the power of international partnerships, it has the potential to drive magnitudes more.
“Today, the space sector represents about 1 percent of global economic activity. Yet, I could argue that without space, the other 99 percent wouldn’t be nearly as effective or efficient. Partners are developing commercial satellites that connect people around the world, enable distance learning and fuel job growth in many sectors of the global economy.”
You really can’t fault any of Chairman Hewson’s statements about space and GPS in particular. Indeed, it is an excellent presentation as it embodies the essence of motherhood and apple pie for space-faring nations.
However, she has glossed over one of the most pressing problems, not only for GPS III, but for all potential U.S. space-based assets still to be launched: access to space. How are we going to actually lift the satellites into orbit? Where are the launch vehicles?
United Launch Alliance
ULA launch. (Courtesy of United Launch Alliance)
Many of you may have seen the latest GPS III launch services announcement by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a consortium of Boeing and LMCO launch companies taking advantage of the synergies each company brings to the launch arena. Officially, ULA is described as a 50-50 joint venture between Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company, formed in 2006 to provide reliable, cost-efficient access to space for U.S. government missions.
Just a few weeks ago, ULA — the consortium that has launched all GPS satellites since 2006 with more than 90 consecutive government launches without a single failure, a world record — made what many consider to be a startling, albeit carefully worded, announcement regarding the latest and what many consider to be unduly restrictive government GPS III RFP (Request For Proposal) for launch services.
“ULA wants nothing more than to compete, but unfortunately we are unable to submit a compliant bid for GPS III-X launch services. The RFP requires ULA to certify that funds from other government contracts will not benefit the GPS III launch mission. ULA does not have the accounting systems in place to make that certification, and therefore cannot submit a compliant proposal.
“In addition, the RFP’s Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) structure allows for no ability to differentiate between competitors on the basis of critical factors such as reliability, schedule certainty, technical capability and past performance.
“Further, under the restrictions imposed by the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), ULA does not currently have any Atlas engines available to bid and therefore is unable to submit a timely proposal.
“ULA remains fully committed to supporting America’s national security missions with world-class launch services. We look forward to working with the Air Force to address the obstacles to ULA’s participation in future launch competitions to enable a full and fair competition.”
A separate ULA press release states ULA will continue with development of its Vulcan launch vehicle, which they bill as a next-generation launch system. So it appears that it is merely the restrictions and caveats that pose a problem for ULA and GPS III launches, not technology or timelines.
“With the introduction of the Vulcan, ULA’s next-generation launch system (NGLS), ULA is transforming the future of space launch — making it more affordable, accessible and commercialized — and innovating to develop solutions to the nation’s most critical need: reliable access to space,” ULA said.
The Falcon .9 (Courtesy of SpaceX)
SpaceX
With ULA out of the picture, at least temporarily, for GPS III launches, this leaves the door open for Elon Musk, recently of Big Bang Theory fame, and his Space Exploration Technologies Corporation better known as SpaceX to step in and fill the void presumably with a variation of their heavy lift Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX promotes itself as the largest private producer of rocket engines worldwide, and no doubt that is true. SpaceX has demonstrated the capability for both successful launches and spectacular failures. That is almost to be expected for a new rocket engine and a new company, which only came about in 2002. However, where human lives are concerned, failure is not an acceptable option.
SpaceX is very much aware that a launch failure resulting in lives lost might well spell the end of SpaceX. With that as a given, SpaceX recently delivered its 100th Merlin 1D engine, nine of which form the basis for the first stage of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Indeed, SpaceX touts unparalleled redundancy — with nine Merlin 1D engines on the first stage, it could actually overcome a failure of any one of the Merlin engines and still have a successful launch.
Merlin ID engines all in a row. (Courtesy of SpaceX)
Only time will tell, however, and this scenario leaves the U.S. government with very few options as long as the current guidelines regarding the Russian RD-180 core are in place. Other companies such as Moog, Orbital Sciences, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origins and ATK, to name a few potential contenders, could separately or as a team bid on the next-generation launch vehicle for GPS III.
However, that would mean storing the GPS III satellites and payloads for inordinately long periods of time, which is both expensive and risky. Expensive in dollars, since each GPS III space vehicle (SV) would cost approximately $1 million per year — not an official figure, but a best guess from several sources, to store, and expensive and risky from an operational point of view in that the federal government and LMCO would have no idea if the GPS III SVs and payloads really worked as advertised.
They would have no idea if there were any major flaws or anomalies, and once the production line at LMCO space systems was shut down, it would be prohibitively expensive to restart, if that were even possible. Remember, three GPS III SVs are being constructed currently, and today there are only eight confirmed orders for GPS III SVs.
As for major anomalies, just think back to the GPS IIF launches where the first four each revealed a major and separate anomaly for IIF SVs that had to be corrected on all future SVs and payloads before further launches occurred.
My sources at LMCO in Littleton assure me the first GPS III SV with a complete payload, built by Harris nee Exelis, nee ITT, will be ready for delivery to the government in mid-2016, possibly earlier. With a 90-day checkout the first GPS III SV could be ready for launch as early as late fall 2016.
The problem at that point becomes — and actually is a problem right here and now — there is no evidence that the government currently has a viable certified program to launch, control or maintain the GPS III satellites and payloads. But that is another story with many twists and turns.
The Road Less Taken
Apparently, there are numerous options for the government where GPS programs are concerned, and for a change many of those options, while being considered outside the box, actually appear to be the smarter choice.
As that great American poet Robert Frost once famously wrote:
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Until next time, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and Happy Navigating on that road less traveled by.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) declined Nov. 16 to submit a bid to launch the GPS III satellite, leaving the field wide open for commercial launch service SpaceX, reports Space News.
The first GPS III satellite is expected to launch in 2018.
Every operational GPS mission has launched on a ULA or heritage rocket — the most recent being the GPS IIF-11, which launched on Oct. 31.
ULA said it did not submit a bid in part because it does not expect to have an Atlas 5 rocket available for the mission, according to Space News. Legislation passed by Congress in 2014 requires the Air force to phase out its use of the Russian-made RD-180 engine that powers the Atlas 5 rocket used by ULA.
After the first main engine cut-off, the GPS IIF-10 mission entered a three-hour coast phase. (Courtesy: ULA)
UPDATE (July 15, 4 p.m. ET): United Launch Alliance (ULA) officials have declared the launch mission a success. The Centaur upper stage completed its second burn and released the GPS IIF-10 satellite into the navigation network to complete today’s launch of the Atlas 5 rocket.
“Congratulations to the U.S Air Force and the entire mission team on today’s successful launch of the 10th GPS IIF satellite! In just a few days, on July 17, the Global Positioning System will celebrate the 20th anniversary of GPS achieving fully operational status,” said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Atlas and Delta Programs. “ULA is very proud to play a role in delivering these satellites to orbit, with Atlas and Delta rockets having launched all 58 operational GPS satellites.”
“Today’s successful launch is a testament to the outstanding teamwork of government and industry partners’ commitment to mission success. The GPS IIF satellites are critical for GPS constellation global service for years to come,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center commander. “Thanks to the men and women of SMC, the 45th, 50th, 310th Space Wings, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, The Aerospace Corporation, the GPS IIF, and the Atlas V launch teams, we are sustaining and modernizing the world’s greatest space-based, precise positioning, navigation and timing service.”
The tenth GPS IIF satellite lifted off from the Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on schedule at 11:36 local time (15:36 UTC) on July 15, at the start of a nineteen-minute launch window.
This is the second of three GPS constellation replenishment flights planned in 2015. The first launch, of GPS IIF-9 using a Delta IV rocket, occurred on March 25. A third launch, of GPS IIF-11 using an Atlas rocket, is scheduled for Sept. 22. The launch of GPS IIF-12 is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2016.
The Boeing-built GPS IIF-10 is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users. GPS IIF-10 was the 70th spacecraft to be launched as part of the GPS constellation and the tenth in the Block IIF series that began launching in May 2010.
GPS IIF-10 marks the 55th Atlas V launch since the vehicle’s inaugural launch in 2002 and the 27th flight of the 401 configuration. Every operational GPS mission has launched on a United Launch Alliance or heritage rocket. While the government has certified ULA competitor SpaceX for GPS III launches, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded June 29, two minutes after launch of an International Space Station resupply mission.
The Boeing-built GPS IIF satellites provide improved signals to support both the warfighter and the growing civilian needs of the global economy, the U.S. Air Force said in a statement. The GPS IIF satellites will provide improved accuracy through advanced atomic clocks, a longer design life than previous GPS satellites, and a new operational third civil signal (L5) that benefits commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications. It will also continue to deploy the modernized capabilities that began with the GPS IIR satellites, including a more robust military signal.
United Launch Alliance crews on July 7 placed the next GPS satellite on top of an Atlas V rocket for blastoff later this month, reports SpaceFlight Now.
Liftoff for the GPS IIF-10 satellite will take place July 15, between 11:36 and 11:55 a.m. EDT, from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral, Fla.
This is the second of three GPS constellation replenishment flights planned in 2015. The first launch, of GPS IIF-9 using a Delta IV rocket, occurred on March 25. A third launch, of GPS IIF-11 using an Atlas rocket, is scheduled for Sept. 22. The launch of GPS IIF-12 is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2016.
The Boeing-built GPS IIF-10 is one of the next-generation GPS satellites, incorporating various improvements to provide greater accuracy, increased signals, and enhanced performance for users.
GPS IIF-10 marks the 55th Atlas V launch since the vehicle’s inaugural launch in 2002 and the 27th flight of the 401 configuration. Every operational GPS mission has launched on a United Launch Alliance or heritage rocket. While the government has certified ULA competitor SpaceX for GPS III launches, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded June 29, two minutes after launch of an International Space Station resupply mission.
