Tag: GPS
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Falcon 9 rocket wins landmark U.S. Air Force launch contract
File photo of a Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch a third-generation GPS navigation satellite for the U.S. military in 2018, the Air Force said Wednesday, breaking a monopoly held by United Launch Alliance since its formation nearly a decade ago. The second satellite in the Air…
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Pentagon opens investigation into contracts with ULA
File photo of an Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. Navy communications satellite in January 2015. Credit: ULA The U.S. Defense Department’s internal watchdog has opened a probe into whether the Pentagon’s contracts with United Launch Alliance were properly awarded after a former ULA executive implied the government rigged a recent…
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Boeing-built GPS satellite goes into orbit
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket rises from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the GPS IIF-12 satellite into space. (Credit: United Launch Alliance) The last GPS Block IIF satellite built by the Boeing Co. was sent into orbit for the U.S. Air Force today, filling out a set of a dozen. United Launch…
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Atlas V opens 2016 campaign with successful GPS IIF-12 launch
United Launch Alliance successfully launched its Atlas V carrying the twelfth and final Block IIF GPS satellite Friday. Flying from Cape Canaveral, the rocket lifted off – despite weather-related challenges during the countdown – with her GPS IIF-12 spacecraft at 08:38 local time (13:38 UTC), the opening of what was a nineteen-minute window. Atlas V Mission: Friday’s…
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ULA sits out Air Force launch competition
File photo of an Atlas 5 rocket launch. Credit: ULA United Launch Alliance said Monday it did not submit a proposal in a competition to launch a U.S. Air Force GPS navigation satellite, apparently relinquishing the contract to rival SpaceX, the only other company certified to launch the mission. The Air Force wanted both companies…
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Atlas V successfully launches GPS IIF-11
Making its third launch of the month, United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket has successfully deployed the penultimate Block IIF Global Positioning System satellite. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral – rescheduled for Saturday – occurred at the start of a nineteen-minute window that opened at 12:13 EDT (16:13 UTC). Atlas V Launch: The launch will deployed…
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ULA Atlas V successfully launches with GPS IIF-10
The United States Air Force is continuing to replenish its fleet of Global Positioning System navigation satellites Wednesday via the successful launch of the tenth Block IIF spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral was on schedule at 11:36 local time (15:36 UTC) – at the start of a…
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Air Force stays the course with SpaceX rocket certification
File photo of a previous Falcon 9 launch. Credit: SpaceX Sunday’s Falcon 9 rocket failure may have blemished SpaceX’s success record, but the mishap will not keep the entrepreneurial space company from competing for U.S. military launch contracts with rival United Launch Alliance, according to an Air Force general. SpaceX won certification from the Air…
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ULA, SpaceX face off in landmark Air Force launch competition
Artist’s concept of a GPS 3 satellite. Credit: Lockheed Martin The U.S. Air Force has identified the launch of a next-generation GPS navigation satellite for the first in a series of competitive rocket procurements between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, service officials announced Wednesday. The Air Force released a draft request for proposals Wednesday for…
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Newest GPS satellite goes into service
CAPE CANAVERAL — The world’s population can now make full use of the latest Global Positioning System satellite launched from Cape Canaveral last month. The GPS 2F-9 satellite has gone into service following its March 25 foggy liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket and subsequent month-long checkout in space. “We’re improving civilian…