SpaceX to Launch New GPS Satellite for U.S. Air Force on Wednesday

The Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third-generation GPS III global positioning system satellite into orbit for the U.S. Air Force on Wednesday. This was reported by Interfax, citing SpaceX.

The launch is scheduled to take place at 07:10 Eastern Time (16:10 Yerevan Time) from the 40th launch complex at the U.S. Space Force base in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The satellite will be deployed approximately 1.5 hours after liftoff at an altitude of about 1,000 kilometers, followed by its installation in medium Earth orbit at an altitude of approximately 20,000 kilometers.

It is noted that this will be the sixth GPS III satellite launched into orbit since 2018. These devices are set to gradually replace aging satellites that currently provide GPS signals worldwide.

GPS III satellites have significantly stronger signals and allow for three times more accurate location determination of civilian objects compared to the devices currently in use, which have a variability of 3 to 10 meters. The accuracy of military site location determination will be even higher.