LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, Calif. — The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to launch the seventh Boeing built Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle, Aug. 1. The launch window opens at 11:23 pm EDT and will remain open for 18 minutes.
This marks the third GPS IIF satellite to be launched this year. The first six of the twelve satellites are currently on-orbit and meeting all mission requirements. Of the remaining satellites, one is being prepared for launch, one is being prepared for shipment to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, two are in storage, and one is completing production.
“GPS is a vital global utility providing precise global positioning, navigation and timing services to the nation and the world,” said Col. Bill Cooley, director of Space and Missile Systems Centers Global Positioning Systems Directorate. “The GPS constellation continues to meet or exceed the performance standards to which the satellites were built,” he said.
The Boeing built GPS IIF satellites adds a new third civil signal (L5) for commercial aviation and safety-of-life applications, improved navigational accuracy through advanced atomic clocks, and a longer design life than its predecessor. Operated by U.S. Air Force Space Command, the GPS constellation provides precise positioning, navigation and timing services worldwide seven days a week, 24-hours a day.
The Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force’s center of acquisition 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.
