SpaceX has successfully launched the fifth GPS satellite for the U.S. military.
The GPS III SV05 satellite – nicknamed for NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong – launched on board the 227-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, taking off at 12:09 p.m. ET.
“We have liftoff! The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the latest GPS III satellite has launched!” the Space Force Space and Missiles Systems Center said, retweeting SpaceX’s Twitter video of the moment.
Arrangement of the Lockheed Martin-assembled satellite was affirmed over 90 minutes after the fact.
It is expected to maneuver into a 12,550-mile-high orbit, as indicated by Spaceflight Now, and join the current constellation of satellites.
Three advanced GPS III missions have recently launched on Falcon 9 rockets throughout the most recent few years and Space.com revealed Thursday that the U.S, military intends to dispatch a sum of 10 redesigned GPS satellites to replace some older ones effectively in space.
The next-generation satellites will include “new technology and advanced capabilities” and meet the “needs of the military to mitigate threats” to GPS infrastructure, as indicated by Lockheed Martin.
The aerospace defense organization said that the satellites are the “most powerful GPS satellite ever built,” with multiple times times greater accuracy and up to multiple times expanded enemy of jam insurance.
“GPS III was also intentionally created with a modular design so that new technology and capabilities could be added as technology changes or new mission needs change,” it noted.
The following GPS III mission – likewise contracted to the Elon Musk-founded company – is scheduled for at some point in 2022.
Notwithstanding the satellite, the pre-owned rocket flew a payload for the first time.
It was SpaceX’s 19th mission this year and its 89th successful booster recovery, with Falcon 9’s first stage arriving at around 12:19 p.m. ET on the Just Read the Instructions droneship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
In another first, SpaceX’s recovery vessel HOS Briarwood would make its debut to recuperate the payload fairings after they fall back to Earth.