Booster B1062 previously supported 16 missions, including GPS III SV04, GPS III SV05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and nine Starlink missions.
GPS III Space Vehicle 05 reused the same Falcon 9 booster that delivered GPS III SV04 to orbit in November 2020.
The Falcon 9 booster used to launch GPS III SV05 previously delivered GPS III SV04 to orbit in November 2020.
GPS III SV04 is the first GPS III vehicle delivered to the warfighter via an expedited satellite control authority transfer process that reduces the operational acceptance timeline by 10 days.
GPS III SV04 was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 vehicle on 2020-11-05.
GPS III SV04 is the fourth GPS III satellite delivered into the operational constellation in the past 12 months and the second delivered in the past three months.
GPS III SV04 was set healthy to the global user community approximately 30 days after launch, establishing a new standard for handover from the contractor launch team to operational acceptance.
A Falcon 9 carrying GPS III SV04 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 2020-11-05 at 6:24 p.m. EST.
The fourth GPS III satellite (GPS III SV04) is now planned to launch on 2020-11-05 after an initial launch attempt was aborted.
The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center and its mission partners launched GPS III SV04 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
GPS III SV04 launched on 2020-11-05 and separated from its rocket following a 6:24 p.m. EST liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Engineers and operators at Lockheed Martin’s Waterton Facility will perform on-orbit checkout and tests for GPS III SV04 estimated to complete in approximately one month.
GPS III SV04 is using onboard power to climb to its operational orbit approximately 12,885 km above the Earth.