Latest news with #Menschner
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Space Force demos rapid turnaround on latest GPS III launch
The Space Force successfully sent its latest GPS III satellite to orbit Friday, demonstrating the ability to prepare and launch a military spacecraft on condensed timelines. The satellite flew on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida. GPS III, built by Lockheed Martin, is the latest version of the navigation and timing system and is designed to provide improved anti-jamming capabilities. It will broadcast additional military and civilian signals. Along with delivering more GPS capacity, the launch was the second in a series of Rapid Response Trailblazer missions the Space Force is running to test whether it can quickly launch high-value satellites in response to national security needs. The goal is to condense a process that can take up to two years down to a handful of months. The first mission, which flew in December, reduced the time between launch notification and lift off to around five months — and the May 30th mission shortened it even further, to around 90 days. 'What we're demonstrating here is that it is possible with our current vehicle systems that if there is a need to get something on orbit quickly, something that is unpredicted at the time we put it in our contract, we have the capacity, and we know what it would take in order to make that happen,' Mission Director Walt Lauderdale told reporters in a May 28 pre-launch briefing. The Space Force has shown through its Tactically Responsive Launch program that it can launch small payloads on commercial rockets on demand, but RRT is proving that capability on larger, more complex payloads. The service opted to conduct its first RRT missions with GPS III satellites for a few reasons. For starters, the military signal, M-Code, is in high demand from DOD users. In both cases, the spacecraft had been previously slated to fly on United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket, which until recently hadn't been certified to fly national security missions. Because GPS III satellites are qualified to fly on multiple vehicles, the Space Force was able to fairly easily swap the missions to a SpaceX rocket, allowing it to test the flexibility of both the launch firm and Lockheed as the satellite provider. According to Col. Andrew Menschner, commander of Mission Delta 31, the team has shared the importance of multi-vehicle qualification with Space Force leadership, and he expects more spacecraft will have that built-in flexibility in the future. The effort also benefitted from the fact there were multiple GPS III satellites in Lockheed's factory waiting for a ride, Menschner said in the same briefing. Using those spacecraft for a mission like this helped demonstrate the utility of having systems on standby, ready to launch when needed. 'We're trying to prove that we can quickly respond to an on-orbit failure of a vehicle, but we're also trying to show the best ways to be resilient now that we have the timelines of launch headed to much shorter durations,' Menschner said. 'One form of resilience is having a completed vehicle in the factory and ready to go to respond.' Lauderdale noted that while these missions have proven faster timelines are possible, the service may not opt to apply the concepts to all future GPS launches. Spacecraft readiness will more likely be the driver. 'I wouldn't expect it's going to become a regular cadence, but we are demonstrating what it would take in order to respond to something unexpected and how we can do that to support the warfighter,' he said.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SpaceX to launch GPS III satellite for Space Force on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
Look for a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to propel a GPS III satellite into orbit for the Space Force during an afternoon launch Friday, May 30, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 will lift off with the Lockheed Martin-designed and -built satellite during a window that extends from 1:23 p.m. to 2:08 p.m. for this GPS III-7 mission, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory indicates. "This second accelerated launch for GPS III is a continued demonstration of the United States Space Force's capability to rapidly reconstitute the constellation, should a need arise to do so," Space Force Col. Andrew Menschner said during a May 28 media roundtable. "With 38 GPS satellites now on orbit, 31 of which operate on a daily basis, we have a healthy redundancy in the constellation," Menschner said. "And that's great news for our joint military force and the 6 billion civilian users that rely on GPS for global flight operations, other means of travel, commerce, banking, farming and enhanced 911 capabilities that get help to people where they need it." Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, Axiom, ULA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral However, Mark Burger, launch weather officer with the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron, said "weather will be a watch item" on launch day — sea breeze-fueled thunderstorms have swept across East-Central Florida throughout the week. He said there is a 45% chance of favorable weather for liftoff. The National Weather Service predicts a 70% chance of precipitation May 30 at the Space Force installation, with showers likely and thunderstorms possible after 2 p.m. Partly sunny skies should otherwise prevail, with a high near 92 and southwest wind of 10 mph to 15 mph gusting to 20 mph. In mid-December, SpaceX launched Lockheed Martin's seventh GPS III satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station into orbit 12,550 miles above the Earth's surface. Touted as RRT-1 — or Rapid Response Trailblazer — this Space Force mission slashed the pre-launch planning and preparatory period from two years to less than five months as a national security demonstration. Now, Space Force officials expect to complete that process within three months for the upcoming launch of Lockheed's eighth GPS III satellite. 'This launch executes a launch vehicle trade of the GPS III-7 mission from Vulcan to a Falcon 9 rocket, and swaps a later GPS IIIF-1 mission from Falcon Heavy to Vulcan, showcasing our ability to launch in three months, compared to the typical 24 months,' Space Force Col. Jim Horne said in a press release. "It highlights another instance of the Space Force's ability to complete high priority launches on a rapid timescale, which demonstrates the capability to respond to emergent constellation needs as rapidly as Space Vehicle readiness allows," Horne said. The recent wave of GPS III satellites is equipped with M-code technology — "a critical warfighter capability," per a Lockheed Martin press release. "M-Code is an advanced, new signal designed to improve anti-jamming and anti-spoofing, as well as increase secure access to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed forces," the release said. "GPS III space vehicles provide up to eight times more anti-jamming power than GPS II space vehicles, and M-code has been in operational acceptance since 2020. "GPS satellites provide essential navigation for U.S. military assets, operational troops, and field supply deliveries while powering global financial markets, transportation, utilities, agriculture, construction and ride-share services." For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX to launch Lockheed-built GPS satellite from Cape Canaveral
