United Launch Alliance Launches 9th GPS IIF Satellite For US Air Force

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket successfully launched the ninth Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite on Wednesdays for the US Air Force. 

This mission was launched aboard a Delta IV Medium-plus (4,2) configuration Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) using a single ULA common booster core powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 main engine, along with two Orbital ATK GEM-60 solid rocket motors.

The upper stage was powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10B-2 engine with the satellite encapsulated in a four-meter-diameter composite payload fairing.

GPS IIF-9 is the ninth in a series of next generation GPS satellites and will join the GPS worldwide timing and navigation system utilizing 24 satellites in six different planes, with a minimum of four satellites per plane positioned in orbit approximately 11,000 miles above the Earth's surface.

The GPS IIF series provides improved accuracy and enhanced performance for GPS users.

ULA's next launch is the Atlas V AFSPC-5 mission for the United States Air Force, scheduled for May 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.