{"id":9835,"date":"2025-05-30T17:45:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T09:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/u-s-space-force-lockheed-martin-launch-newest-gps-satellite-on-spacex-falcon-rocket\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T17:45:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T09:45:39","slug":"u-s-space-force-lockheed-martin-launch-newest-gps-satellite-on-spacex-falcon-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/u-s-space-force-lockheed-martin-launch-newest-gps-satellite-on-spacex-falcon-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Space Force, Lockheed Martin launch newest GPS satellite on SpaceX Falcon rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_69816\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-69816\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69816\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250530_GPS_III-7_liftoff_MC-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250530_GPS_III-7_liftoff_MC-1.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250530_GPS_III-7_liftoff_MC-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250530_GPS_III-7_liftoff_MC-1-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250530_GPS_III-7_liftoff_MC-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-69816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 rocket on May 30, 2025 at 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 UTC) with the GPS III-7 Space Vehicle 08 satellite from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><strong>Update May 30, 3:14 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the GPS III-7 SV-08 spacecraft.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The latest addition to the United States\u2019 Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation launched into medium Earth orbit Friday afternoon, skirting some season thunderstorms passing through the area.<\/p>\n<p>The GPS III-7 Space Vehicle 08 (SV-08) launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff occurred at 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 UTC), the end of a 15-minute window.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1Juq-FD6cRA?si=quQKzV2DbGMhxfs_\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>During a prelaunch news briefing on Wednesday, Launch Weather Officer Mark Burger said that there was a 45 percent chance for favorable weather for launch on Friday. That outlook remained unchanged on Thursday, but began to improve on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll be looking at those cumulus cloud violations and associated thunderstorms in and close to the pad,\u201d Burger said. \u201cOne thing that is working in our favor is that the time of the day isn\u2019t as bad as we would see later in the day or evening in this pattern. So again, despite the relatively high POV [probability of violating weather rules], I suspect that there\u2019s a good chance we\u2019ll at least have some opportunity to work with on launch day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Luck turned out to be on their side as SpaceX flew its Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1092, for its fourth flight on this mission. It previously launched the Starlink 12-13, NROL-69 and CRS-32 missions.<\/p>\n<p>About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1092 landed on the droneship, \u2018A Shortfall of Gravitas.\u2019 This marked the 111th booster landing on that vessel and the 454th landing to date.<\/p>\n<p>Like with the previous GPS mission, the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage will feature a gray band, which helps regulate the thermal temperatures of the propellant tank. It\u2019s used for missions that require an extended coast phase or will spend long durations either in the Earth\u2019s shadow or in direct sunlight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat goes back to our first launch, when we were exploring all these different options with SpaceX before our first launch with them,\u201d said Walt Lauderdale, the Mission Director and Chief of Falcon Systems and Operations, Launch Execution Division within the Space System Command\u2019s Assured Access to Space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the areas that we had concern that we shared with them was the very point there about the longer coast, being able to make sure that we had the propellants under proper thermal conditions for those missions. And it\u2019s been a great journey together that has created this capability that SpaceX is able to use for multiple customers. So we\u2019re really happy with the partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_69810\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-69810\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69810\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_GPS_III_7_patch.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_GPS_III_7_patch.png 1200w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_GPS_III_7_patch-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_GPS_III_7_patch-678x678.png 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_GPS_III_7_patch-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_GPS_III_7_patch-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-69810\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s rendering of the GPS III-7 mission patch. Illustration: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>Rapid cadence<\/h4>\n<p>The SV-08 mission came less than a half a year after the launch of the previous third generation GPS satellite, SV-07. That mission, initially referred to as the Rapid Response Trailblazer or RRT-1 was a relatively short turnaround time for getting a mission from contract to launch.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, a government mission can have a timeline of 18 to 24 months from the initial launch award to getting to the launch pad. SV-07 shifted from a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket to a SpaceX Falcon 9 because by the middle of last year, Vulcan still wasn\u2019t certified to launch national security missions and the Space Force wanted to get that GPS capability into the fleet.<\/p>\n<p>In exchange, ULA will launch SV-10 instead of SpaceX.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_69259\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-69259\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69259\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Box-Up.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Box-Up.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Box-Up-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Box-Up-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Box-Up-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-69259\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seen here prior to being sealed in its shipping container at Lockheed Martin\u2019s Littleton, Colorado facility, SV08 will join the U.S. Space Force\u2019s operational GPS constellation in orbit. Image: Lockheed Martin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Col. Andrew Menschner, commander of Mission Delta 31 at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, said one of the biggest lessons learned from RRT-1 was the possibilities for improving national security launch timelines, especially for something like the GPS program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe went through a process of maximizing our efficiency and we thought we did pretty well getting down to the five-month timeline. And then we looked at ourselves and said, \u2018We can do that better,\u2019\u201d Menschner said. \u201cAnd so this, what you see today, is just simply the evolution of that and we\u2019re getting it down to just over three months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lockheed Martin, the GPS III satellite manufacturer, received the letter calling up the SV-08 satellite out of storage on Feb. 21 and the call for launch to SpaceX was sent on March 7.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll say somewhat tongue-in-cheek, compared to SV-07, this was, I\u2019ll say, a relatively less punishing path to launch, primarily because of the challenges we faced on SV-07, whether it was ground transportation or the RRT climate,\u201d said Malik Musawwir, the vice president of Navigations Systems for Lockheed Martin.<\/p>\n<p>During the previous mission, they had to forgo getting a C-17 plane flight and pivot to ground transportation because those aircraft were being used in hurricane response. That required creating a new, secure ground path, while also watching the storms in Florida at the time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_69260\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-69260\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69260\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_GPS-3_SV-08_arrival.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_GPS-3_SV-08_arrival.jpeg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_GPS-3_SV-08_arrival-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_GPS-3_SV-08_arrival-678x452.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250407_GPS-3_SV-08_arrival-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-69260\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Lockheed Martin Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) IIIA, Space Vehicle 08 (SV-08), prepares to be loaded to a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III from Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, for transportation to Florida, April 1, 2025. The space vehicle was successfully transferred on April 2, 2025, through a coordinated effort between Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Space Operations Command, and USAF\u2019s Air Mobility Command. Image: U.S. Space Force\/Senior Airman Joshua Hollis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Normally, calling up a GPS satellite from storage can take four to five months just to ready the satellite itself before transportation. That\u2019s because while they\u2019re in storage, they\u2019re not fully integrated.<\/p>\n<p>So they had to fully integrate the vehicle, with features like the solar arrays, which are stored separately from the rest of the vehicle, and go through operational checkouts, like electrical and mechanical testing, before it could ship. Then once in Florida, it had to go through other processing, like attaching to the payload adaptor, encapsulating it in the fairings and transporting it to the launch pad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery step of the way, where we can find opportunities to accelerate is the key to accelerating that speed even more so,\u201d Musawwir said. \u201cHaving the open communication with our government team to make sure that we\u2019re aware of launch needs, getting ahead of that integration and testing curve and iterating and improving upon each one of those processes of how we can test faster, test better, integrate faster and deploy faster are really how we can achieve the faster timelines today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are two remaining GPS III satellites in storage at Lockheed Martin\u2019s facilities in Littleton, Colorado, which are set to be launched on ULA Vulcan rockets. Lauderdale said there are no plans to reassign those missions to SpaceX \u201cat this time.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Adding resiliency<\/h4>\n<p>Getting this next GPS satellite into orbit as part of the constellation of 31 existing satellites is important in part because SV-08 includes Military Code or M-code capabilities. That\u2019s additional software that protects the satellite from interfering communications and spoofing attempts.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, 24 of the GPS satellites on orbit have this capability, which was a requirement for the Space Force, but according to a June 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on GPS Modernization, it was determined that \u201cit needs at least three more to meet certain user requirements for accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SV-07 was the 25th M-code-capable satellite and SV-08 will be the 26th. SV-09 was declared \u201cavailable for launch\u201d back in August 2022 and like the others, has been awaiting launch ever since.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-69811\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Team-Photo-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Team-Photo-2.jpeg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Team-Photo-2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Team-Photo-2-678x452.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/20250529_LM-GPS-III-SV08-Team-Photo-2-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/p>\n<p>ULA is set to launch its first national security mission with its Vulcan rocket, USSF-106, no earlier than this summer, following the launch of the Kuiper Atlas 02 mission in mid-June. There\u2019s at least one other national security mission for ULA ahead of the flight of SV-09, so it\u2019s unclear when that will launch.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if the Space Force will try and get the remaining two GPS III satellites launched this year, Menschner said, \u201cWe\u2019re ready to go. We would certainly defer to the Space Force prioritization of when vehicle should receive rides to orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one of the things I mentioned earlier about the foresight of the GPS III program, being able to qualify on multiple launch providers,\u201d Menschner said. \u201cThat gives the Space Force and the GPS III program a tremendous amount of flexibility. We\u2019re ready to go and we\u2019re excited to whenever that opportunity comes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Menschner said even before these next satellites are launched into orbit, they\u2019re helping to prove out the resilience of the GPS III constellation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to prove that we can quickly respond to an on-orbit failure of a vehicle, but we\u2019re also trying to show the best ways to be resilient now that we have the timelines of launch headed to much shorter durations,\u201d Menschner said. \u201cOne form of resilience is having a completed vehicle in the factory and ready to go to respond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSaid another way, we don\u2019t always have to have a vehicle in orbit for it to be providing resilience in the constellation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 rocket on May 30, 2025 at 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 UTC) with the GPS III-7 Space Vehicle 08 satellite from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now Update May 30, 3:14 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the GPS III-7 SV-08 spacecraft. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[856,479,1096,1097,472,605,316],"class_list":["post-9835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-assured-access-to-space","tag-falcon-9","tag-gps-3","tag-gps-3-sv-08","tag-lockheed-martin","tag-space-systems-command","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9835"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9835\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}