ORLANDO, Fla., June 17 (UPI) -- SpaceX plans to launch the latest updated satellite for the U.S. Global Positioning System on Thursday afternoon from Florida.
Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled at 12:09 p.m. EDT from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
"The constellation currently comprises about 31 GPS satellites, the oldest of which dating back to the late 1990s and early 2000s," according to a fact sheet from Lockheed Martin, which builds new GPS satellites.
The new satellite is known as GPS III 5, the fifth in a third generation of the satellites that are used by the military and by map data applications ranging from Google Maps to Uber.
The newer GPS satellites have more precise location measurements and a signal that is more secure against jamming technology, according to Lockheed.
"Once the fifth GPS III satellite is on orbit, the five enhanced satellites with their advanced capabilities will represent about 16% of the constellation," the company's mission description says.
Lockheed Martin's sixth, seventh and eighth GPS III satellites are already complete and awaiting launch dates, according to the company.
The weather for the launch attempt is expected to be 70% favorable, according to a Space Force forecast.
"Isolated showers and storms cannot be ruled out as we head into the launch window just after noon," the Space Force said.
Should a delay occur, SpaceX said, a backup launch opportunity is at 12:05 p.m. Friday, with a 15-minute window.
SpaceX posted on Twitter that the rocket booster's first stage for the mission previously launched the last GPS satellite, GPS III 4, in November 2020.
The booster is to be recovered in the Atlantic Ocean on the company's Just Read the Instructions droneship.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiTGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVwaS5jb20vU2NpZW5jZV9OZXdzLzIwMjEvMDYvMTcvU3BhY2VYLUdQUy1sYXVuY2gvNjQ0MTYyMzg3NDI5My_SAVBodHRwczovL3d3dy51cGkuY29tL2FtcC9TY2llbmNlX05ld3MvMjAyMS8wNi8xNy9TcGFjZVgtR1BTLWxhdW5jaC82NDQxNjIzODc0MjkzLw?oc=5
2021-06-17 07:22:32Z
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