The Air Force and launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) are set for Friday’s launch of its seventh Global Positioning System IIF-series satellite (GPS IIF-7).
The launch window opens at 11:23 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff will take place on one of ULA’s Atlas V launch vehicles, powered by the Russian-made RD-180 first stage booster. GPS IIF-7 will join a worldwide position, timing and navigation (PNT) system utilizing 24 satellites in six different orbital planes, with a minimum of four satellites per plane positioned in orbit approximately 11,000 miles above the earth’s surface.
ULA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said Friday there was an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for the launch.
Boeing [BA] develops the GPS IIF series satellites. Friday’s launch will be the last to use C-band radar for flight tracking. The Air Force is moving to solely GPS tracking for future launches (Defense Daily, July 28).
ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing. The RD-180 is developed by NPO Energomash and is distributed in the United States by RD AMROSS, a joint venture of NPO Energomash and Pratt & Whitney of United Technologies Corp. [UTX]