CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX has launched the U.S. Air Force’s most powerful GPS satellite ever built.
A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday, hoisting the satellite into orbit.
Successful deployment of GPS III SV01 to medium Earth orbit confirmed. pic.twitter.com/4lhJpwdsip
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 23, 2018
The satellite was supposed to soar Tuesday but rocket concerns and then weather delayed the flight.
Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force, says this next-generation GPS satellite is three times more accurate than previous versions and eight times better at anti-jamming. It’s the first in a series and nicknamed Vespucci after the 15th-century Italian explorer who calculated Earth’s circumference to within 50 miles (80 kilometers).
Lockheed Martin developed the advanced GPS technology and is building the satellites at a facility near Denver.
Sunday’s launch was Space X’s 21st and final launch of the year, a company record.
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