In their fourth launch of 2013, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and RD AMROSS successfully propelled the fourth Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF military navigation satellite into orbit. The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V is powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 booster engine and a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10A-4-2 upper-stage engine. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (UTX) company. RD AMROSS LLC is a joint venture of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and NPO Energomash.
“Congratulations to the entire RL10 team for another successful launch,” said Christine Cooley, RL10 program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. “The RL10 engine played a vital role in getting this satellite into the proper orbit. The RL10 team should be proud knowing they have contributed to providing capabilities that will both protect our war fighters and touch everyday life for millions of people.”
“Time and time again, the RD-180 is proving itself as a powerful and dependable booster engine,” said Bill Parsons, president and CEO of RD AMROSS. “We’re proud to launch another satellite that will provide precision navigation and timing to U.S. military forces and civilian users.”
The Block IIF is the fourth in a series of 12 new GPS satellites designed to improve navigational accuracy for civil, commercial and defense applications worldwide. Block IIF features more capability and improved mission performance, including predicted signal accuracy that is two times greater than heritage satellites; a 12- year lifespan that provides longer service and reduced operating costs; and a military signal that has better resistance to jamming in hostile conflict areas.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including engines for launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines. Behind its successful designs, manufacturing processes, and hardware are Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s research and development engineers, who solve tough problems in extreme environments. For more information, go to www.PrattWhitneyRocketdyne.com. Follow us at www.Twitter.com/PWRocketdyne and www.Facebook.com/PWRocketdyne.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.
