GPS III SV-02 Launch
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:34 am
The second space vehicle in the modernization of the Global Positioning System, GPS III SV-02, is scheduled for launching on Thursday, July 28, 2019. The GPS satellite will be carried into transition orbit by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) DELTA IV Medium 4.2 (i.e., 4-meter diameter upper stage and two solid boosters) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch window starts at 10:55 a.m. EDT and ends 11:21 a.m. EDT.
ULA is apparently retiring the DELTA IV Medium configuration rocket after this mission, as they note this will the final flight of this particular design.
The GPS III SV-2 satellite was built by Lockheed Martin, and was declared ready-for-launch last August (2018). The satellite's propulsion engine was fueled in late June, and on July 2 the satellite installation on the DELTA IV upper stage fairing was announced.
The U.S. Air Force Space Mission Command has a Twitter Feed at
https://twitter.com/AF_SMC
and are providing updates as the launch date approaches.
The initial GPS III satellite, SV-1, was launched on December 23, 2018 by a SpaceX rocket. GPS II SV-1 is still being checked out, and its status is "testing."
ULA is apparently retiring the DELTA IV Medium configuration rocket after this mission, as they note this will the final flight of this particular design.
The GPS III SV-2 satellite was built by Lockheed Martin, and was declared ready-for-launch last August (2018). The satellite's propulsion engine was fueled in late June, and on July 2 the satellite installation on the DELTA IV upper stage fairing was announced.
The U.S. Air Force Space Mission Command has a Twitter Feed at
https://twitter.com/AF_SMC
and are providing updates as the launch date approaches.
The initial GPS III satellite, SV-1, was launched on December 23, 2018 by a SpaceX rocket. GPS II SV-1 is still being checked out, and its status is "testing."