Space News

US Air Force Launches 11th GPS 2F Satellite

News
By Mike Gruss
published

11th GPS 2F Satellite Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying the 11th GPS 2F satellite for the U.S. Air Force. (Image credit: ULA)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force successfully launched the 11th satellite in its current-generation series of positioning, navigation and timing satellites Oct. 31 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.

The GPS 2F satellites, built by Boeing Network and Space Systems of El Segundo, California, provide better accuracy and resistance to jamming than the previous generation of GPS satellites, most of which are still in operation.

The Air Force confirmed the successful launch about three-and-a-half hours after the 12:13 p.m. liftoff. The last satellite in the GPS 2F series is expected to launch Feb. 3, 2016, Air Force officials said during a prelaunch conference call Oct. 22.

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Mike Gruss
Editor-in-Chief, Sightline Media

Mike Gruss is a veteran defense reporter and Editor-in-Chief of Sightline Media Group, which includes Army Times, Air Force Times, Dense News, Military Times and Navy Times. From 2013 to 2016, Mike served as a Senior Staff Writer for SpaceNews covering national security space programs and military space policy in the U.S. Congress. Mike earned a bachelor's degree in English and American Studies from Miami University and has previously wrote for the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the Virginian-Pilot in Virginia before joining SpaceNews. Prior to joining Sightline in 2017, he was a senior editor of FedTech magazine covering technology in federal government. You can see Mike's latest project on Twitter.