The Department of the Air Force (DAF) has successfully launched the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) Vanguard aboard the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket on the USSF-106 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on August 12, 2025. This mission marks the first U.S. national security payload launched on the Vulcan Centaur rocket, which represents a new era of launch vehicle capability for national defense.
“We have a strategic imperative to deliver science and technology that enables and accelerates a resilient hybrid space architecture for the space capabilities that the joint force depends on,” said Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Commander and DAF Technology Executive Officer (TEO), Brig. Gen. Jason E. Bartolomei.
NTS-3’s Advanced Architecture
NTS-3 is an experimental integrated navigation satellite designed by the AFRL to enhance the robustness, resilience and responsiveness of space-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services, crucial to both military and civilian applications. The satellite aims to advance the capabilities of existing global navigation satellite systems, such as GPS, through innovative technology that includes an advanced atomic clock timekeeping system, a reprogrammable receiver compatible with both legacy and advanced signals (the Global Navigation Satellite System Test Architecture), and Chips Message Robust Authentication, which defends against GPS spoofing.
NTS-3 features a fully reprogrammable software architecture that spans the space-based satellite, ground-based control system, and agile user receivers. This enables rapid software updates either on orbit or in the field, a significant departure from previous GPS satellites that required hardware changes for upgrades. This approach delivers not only military advantages in contested environments but also substantial benefits for civilian users who rely heavily on GPS for banking, agriculture, telecommunications and air traffic control.
“We rely on GPS so much, in ways that we don’t always think about,” said Rachel Gleichmann, NTS-3 deputy program manager, AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate. So, to make sure that it is resilient and that it’s always available and always accurate — or, as the military likes to say, ‘assured’ is extremely important to your average American.”
Industry partner L3Harris Technologies serves as the prime contractor, working alongside AFRL on the design, development, integration, testing, launch vehicle interface, and on-orbit operations of the satellite. The collaboration embodies a comprehensive ecosystem approach that leverages resources from government, industry, academia, and venture capital to foster innovation in national security space.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has pushed back the launch of the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) until spring 2024 as the debut of the Vulcan Centaur rocket from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) — that NTS-3 was set to be launched on — has been delayed, reported Defense News.
NTS-3 was scheduled to launch later this year aboard and would remain in a near-geosynchronous orbit for an inaugural year of testing. The experimental satellite aims to shape the future of U.S. positioning, navigation and timing capabilities and to help U.S. forces to operate in GPS-denied environments and areas prone to spoofing.
According to Defense News, ULA delayed the debut of the Vulcan Centaur rocket as it is incorporating a fix to a testing anomaly, which was discovered in March.
NTS-3 minimizes the impacts of GPS jamming through rapidly reprogrammable signal waveforms, frequency agility and increased signal strength. Its embedded software and firmware are reprogrammable on-orbit.
When paired with reprogrammable receivers, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force can react in real time as threats evolve on the battlefield. In addition, NTS-3 has enhanced processors to support more complex signals.
In January, L3Harris delivered the NTS-3 vehicle to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, to prepare the satellite for launch. The Air Force Research Laboratory and L3Harris are working together to complete space vehicle testing, as well as to launch vehicle integration and enterprise integration to confirm compatibility between the control segment, ground receivers and the satellite vehicle.
The Navigation Technology Satellite–3 (NTS-3) — designed, built and tested by L3Harris — is on track to launch this year. The experimental satellite aims to shape the future of U.S. positioning, navigation and timing capabilities and to help U.S. forces to operate in GPS-denied environments and areas prone to spoofing.
NTS-3 minimizes the impacts of GPS jamming through rapidly reprogrammable signal waveforms, frequency agility and increased signal strength. Its embedded software and firmware are reprogrammable on-orbit.
When paired with reprogrammable receivers, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force can react in real time as threats evolve on the battlefield. In addition, NTS-3 has enhanced processors to support more complex signals.
In January, L3Harris delivered the NTS-3 vehicle to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, to prepare the satellite for launch. The Air Force Research Laboratory and L3Harris are working together to complete space vehicle testing, launch vehicle integration and enterprise integration to confirm compatibility between the control segment, ground receivers and the satellite vehicle.
NTS-3 is scheduled to launch later this year aboard United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. Once launched, NTS-3 will remain in a near-geosynchronous orbit for an inaugural year of testing.
Space Systems Command, together with United Launch Alliance and other mission partners, successfully placed the fifth and sixth Northrop Grumman-built Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP)-5/-6 satellites into orbit for the U.S. Space Force, after an on-time launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST).
“The evolving threat to our space environment requires new levels of resiliency and survivability, autonomy and automation, and unprecedented levels of integration and networking,” said Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, commander of Space Systems Command. “Today’s successful launch will enhance our capabilities in space domain awareness and our space-based space domain awareness architecture. Congratulations to the USSF-8 integrated team and all mission partners on a successful launch.”
The GSSAP-5/-6 satellites join a constellation supporting U.S. Space Command’s space surveillance operations as a dedicated Space Surveillance Network sensor.
GSSAP also supports the Combined Force Space Component Command by collecting space domain awareness data, allowing for more accurate tracking and characterization of manmade orbiting objects. GSSAP is led by SSC’s Special Programs directorate.
The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission launched aboard ULA’s Atlas V in the “511” configuration, which was comprised of a five-meter diameter payload fairing from RUAG Space, a single Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM)-63 solid rocket booster from Northrop Grumman, and a single RL-10 engine from Aerojet Rocketdyne on the Centaur upper stage.
SSC’s Launch Enterprise acquired the launch service through ULA and was responsible for successfully placing the GSSAP satellites on orbit.
The NSSL program provides assured access for the United States’s critical warfighting space assets, and this launch vehicle has reliably placed valuable assets into their intended orbits repeatedly, adding to the NSSL program’s success record of 88 consecutive launches. The program supports a full range of government mission requirements for the nation’s defense and intelligence sectors.
Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force field command responsible for rapidly identifying, prototyping and fielding resilient space capabilities for joint warfighters. SSC delivers sustainable joint space warfighting capabilities to defend the nation and its allies while disrupting adversaries in the contested space domain. SSC mission areas include launch acquisition and operations; space domain awareness; positioning, navigation and timing; missile warning; satellite communication; and cross-mission ground, command and control and data.
A ULA Atlas V rocket carried the USSF-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force into orbit, (Photo: ULA)
A ULA Delta IV rocket carrying GPS III SV02 lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 on Aug. 22. (Photo: ULA)
The U.S. Air Force’s second next-generation GPS III satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, is responding to commands, under control and now using its own internal propulsion system to get to orbit following its successful Aug. 22 launch.
At 11:01 a.m. ET, Air Force and Lockheed Martin engineers at Lockheed Martin’s Launch & Checkout Facility near Denver declared they had full control of GPS III Space Vehicle 02 shortly after the satellite’s separation from its United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket booster. The satellite, nicknamed “Magellan” by the Air Force, began its rocket ride to space with a 09:06 a.m. ET launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
GPS III SV02 is now climbing towards its operational orbit about 12,550 miles above the earth under the power of its own Liquid Apogee engines. Engineers at Lockheed Martin Space’s Waterton, Colorado facility are commanding the satellite using elements of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) Block 0.
“GPS III SV02 is receiving and responding to commands just as planned. In the days ahead, we’ll finish orbit raising to our operational slot and then send the satellite commands telling it to deploy its solar arrays and antennas,” said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin Space’s Vice President for Navigation Systems. “Once we are set up, we’ll begin on-orbit checkout and tests, including extensive signals testing with our advanced navigation payload.”
The payload is provided by L3Harris. The first GPS III satellite launched in December 2018 and its navigation payload has performed beyond expectations on-orbit during pre-operational testing, according to L3Harris.
GPS III SV02 is the second GPS III satellite designed and built by Lockheed Martin to help the Air Force modernize today’s Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation with new technology and capabilities. GPS III satellites provide 3x greater accuracy and up to 8x improved anti-jamming capabilities. GPS III also provides a new L1C civil signal, compatible with other international global navigation satellite systems, like Europe’s Galileo.
The First GPS III Satellite Completes On-Orbit Testing
Image: ULA
GPS III SV02 will be the second GPS III satellite in orbit and the second GPS III satellite now being commanded from Lockheed Martin Space’s facility.
On Dec. 23, 2018, the Air Force launched the first GPS III satellite. Nicknamed “Vespucci,” GPS III SV01 underwent months of checkout and thorough testing of its advanced, new navigation payload provided by Harris Corporation.
“GPS III SV01’s performance exceeded expectations during testing,” Caldwell said. “On July 12, we officially completed all On Orbit Check Out & Test activities. We are excited to see this satellite move to the next phase and perform in an operational environment.”
That’s expected to happen later this year once the first satellite is handed over to the Air Force.
Thinking Ahead From the Ground Up
In preparation for this handover, in 2016, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) contract to upgrade its current GPS ground control system – the Operational Control Segment (OCS) – to be able to fly today’s 31-satellite constellation, as well as the new, more-powerful GPS III satellites, until OCX Block 1, still in development, is delivered.
Lockheed Martin delivered the GPS III COps software upgrade in May and it is currently undergoing preparations for installation.
COps is the latest GPS ground control upgrade project Lockheed Martin has had since it began sustaining the OCS in 2013. In November 2018, the company completed the AEP 7.5 upgrade — the largest architectural change in the system’s history — replacing significant code, hardware and software to improve the system’s cybersecurity capabilities and positioning the Air Force to better operate in contested, degraded and operationally limited environments.
In December 2018, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS Control Segment Sustainment II (GCS II) contract to continue to further modernize and sustain the OCS through 2025.
In 2020, the OCS is expected to receive the M-Code Early Use (MCEU) upgrade, which will allow control of M-Code, an advanced, new signal designed to improve anti-jamming and anti-spoofing, as well as to increase secure access to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed forces.
With GPS III SV01 and SV02 now on orbit, GPS III satellites continue to roll off the production line at Lockheed Martin’s advanced $128-million GPS III Processing Facility near Denver. On May 27, the Air Force declared the GPS III SV03 Available for Launch (AFL) and had the company place it into storage waiting for a launch date. GPS III SV04-08 are now in various stages of assembly and test.
In all, Lockheed Martin is under contract to build up to 32 next-generation GPS III/IIIF satellites for the Air Force. Additional IIIF capabilities will begin being added at the 11th satellite. These will include a fully digital navigation payload, a Regional Military Protection capability, an accuracy-enhancing laser retroreflector array, and a Search & Rescue payload.
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 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.
Team Vandenberg launches its first SpaceX launch from Space Launch Complex-4 Sept. 29, 2013. 30th Space Wing’s 1st Air and Space Test Squadron was the lead for all launch site certification activities at Vandenberg for SpaceX as an EELV New Entrant. The squadron evaluated SpaceX’s flight and ground systems, processes and procedures for the upgraded Falcon-9 rocket. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Yvonne Morales)
The U.S. Air Force has certified SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch military satellites, clearing the way for SpaceX to bid on launches of GPS III satellites. The Air Force announced the decision May 26, which completed a nearly two-year process and establishes a competitor to United Launch Alliance.
SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, Calif., is now eligible for award of qualified national security space launch missions as one of two currently certified launch providers. The first upcoming opportunity for SpaceX to compete to provide launch services is projected to be in June when the Air Force releases a Request for Proposal for GPS III launch services.
“This is a very important milestone for the Air Force and the Department of Defense,” said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James. “SpaceX’s emergence as a viable commercial launch provider provides the opportunity to compete launch services for the first time in almost a decade. Ultimately, leveraging of the commercial space market drives down cost to the American taxpayer and improves our military’s resiliency.”
This milestone is the culmination of a two-year effort on the part of the Air Force and SpaceX to execute the certification process and reintroduce competition into the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The Air Force invested more than $60 million and 150 people in the certification effort which encompassed 125 certification criteria, including more than 2,800 discrete tasks, three certification flight demonstrations, verifying 160 payload interface requirements, 21 major subsystem reviews and 700 audits in order to establish the technical baseline from which the Air Force will make future flight worthiness determinations for launch.
“The SpaceX and SMC teams have worked hard to achieve certification, said Lieutenant General Samuel Greaves, commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. “And we’re also maintaining our spaceflight worthiness process supporting the National Security Space missions. Our intent is to promote the viability of multiple EELV-class launch providers as soon as feasible.”
“This is an important step toward bringing competition to National Security Space launch. We thank the Air Force for its confidence in us and look forward to serving it well,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and lead designer.
The certification process provides a path for launch-service providers to demonstrate the capability to design, produce, qualify and deliver a new launch system and provide the mission assurance support required to deliver national security space satellites to orbit. This gives the Air Force confidence that the national security satellites being delivered to orbit will safely achieve the intended orbits with full mission capability.
The SMC, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force’s center for acquiring and developing military space systems. Its portfolio includes GPS, military satellite communications, defense meteorological satellites, space launch and range systems, satellite control networks, space based infrared systems and space situational awareness capabilities.
