Modernized GPS Satellite Launched

The fourth US Air Force modernized Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II launch vehicle.

Designated GPS IIR-17M, the satellite is the fourth in a series of eight Block IIR-M spacecraft that Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems has modernised for its customer, the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base,CA, USA. The Block IIR-M series includes new features that enhance operations and navigation signal performance for military and civilian GPS users around the globe.

Each IIR-M satellite includes a modernized antenna panel that provides increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal that will provide users with an open access signal on a different frequency. The satellite launched joins three IIR-M satellites and 12 other operational Block IIR satellites within the current 28-spacecraft constellation.