On Friday, May 30 at 1:37 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched the GPS III-7 mission to medium-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photos by Satnews.
This was an accelerated mission requiring the launch to be completed in three months, requiring collaboration between the Space Force, prime contractor Lockheed Martin, and SpaceX.
The satellite, SV-08, is nicknamed Ms. Creola Katherine Johnson, in honor of the American mathematician whose groundbreaking calculations of orbital mechanics at NASA were instrumental to the success of early U.S. manned spaceflights. The GPS III satellite, equipped with M-code technology, provides the warfighter with a capability that is three-times more accurate, and eight-times more resistant to jamming. This effort ensures rapid delivery of modernized Precision, Navigation, and Timing capabilities to the Joint Force.
This was the fourth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-32, NROL-69, and a Starlink mission.
SpaceX to launch urgent secret GPS III SV08 mission on Friday as threats to the GPS grow
On Friday, May 30, the GPS III SV08 satellite, also known as GPS III-7, is scheduled to be launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 10:23 AM – 10:38 AM PDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This launch is part of the U.S. Space Force’s efforts to enhance the GPS network, and the satellite is designed for greater accuracy and more powerful signals.
This is the second high-profile national security mission that shifted from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Space Force officials said the mission was executed on an unusually accelerated timeline. This is as ULA’s Vulcan continues to face delays and has accumulated a backlog of military launches.
The move comes as GPS signals face increasing threats from both nation-state actors and inadvertent commercial interference.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 87°F, broken clouds, 80% cloud cover and a wind speed of 12mph.