SpaceX @SpaceX 10:24 AM · Apr 21, 2026
Deployment of GPS III-8 confirmed
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2046505294214390236SpaceX launches final GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space ForceApril 21, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith
(...) The mission was delayed a day due to poor weather in the recovery zone for the first stage.
The satellite for the GPS III-8 mission is officially designated Space Vehicle 10 (SV10) satellite but is also named ‘Hedy Lamar’ after the Austrian-American actress and inventor whose frequency-hopping research led to the development of technologies, like GPS satellites, WiFi, and Bluetooth. (...)
“Closing out the GPS III block is not the end of the story, but rather it’s a foundation for what comes next. We’re excited to turn the page and
continue advancing our mission with the GPS IIIF generation, bringing even greater capability to the joint force and to the global users who rely on this system every single day.” (...)
The GPS III SV10 satellite was encapsulated in two halves of the payload fairing, one of which flew for a second time and the other for a third time. One of the pair was used on the GPS III-9 mission back in January. (...)
A little more than 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1095 landed on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions.’ Both halves of the payload fairing were also to be recovered after splashing down a little further downrange than the booster. (...)
The mission also represented the fourth time that SpaceX will carry to orbit a GPS satellite that was originally assigned to United Launch Alliance as part of the NSSL Phase 2 contract with the U.S. Space Force.
Previous GPS satellites were moved from ULA’s Vulcan rocket to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 because of development delays with that rocket. Vulcan didn’t receive certification to fly NSSL payloads until the spring of 2025.
During its most recent launch, USSF-87, the rocket suffered a problem with one of its Northrop Grumman-built solid rocket boosters. The payload was able to be delivered to the intended orbit, but the launch vehicle is grounded in its most powerful configurations until an investigation is completed. (...)
In exchange for putting the GPS III SV10 satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket, ULA in turn will fly the USSF-70 mission on a Vulcan rocket in 2028. That mission with an undisclosed payload was originally set to fly on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
The GPS III-8 SV10 satellite will join a fleet of 38 spacecraft in medium Earth orbit, of which 32 are active. The others are held in reserve in case of a problem with the operational spacecraft.
Following the GPS III-8’s deployment, about an hour and a half after liftoff, the satellite will raise its orbit over a period of 10 days to achieve its operational position, said Fang Qian, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of its Global Positioning System program. That will be followed by two to three days of on-orbit testing before satellite operations are handed over to the Space Force.
“And on this particular launch, because we have the optical cross-link demo, we will likely be doing a little more testing to ring out what capability that has to feed in future blocks of the IIIF satellites,” Hobbs said.
The optical cross-link demonstration is a laser communications system that is being tested on this mission before it’s integrated on the next-generation GPS IIIF satellites. The SV10 satellite also carries with it a new digital atomic clock for better precision as another technology demonstration. (...)
https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/04/21/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-final-gps-iii-satellite-for-the-u-s-space-force/
Wątek: Falcon-9R B1095.7 | GPS III-8 | 21.04.2026 (Przeczytany 96 razy)