Source: Spaceflight Now
A cadre of military and industry workers at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is readying the first-of-its-kind satellite for the Global Positioning System, an advanced bird that will be shipped to the launch pad and bolted atop a Delta 4 rocket next week.
Liftoff of the GPS 2F-1 spacecraft from pad 37B is targeted for May 20 during a launch window extending from 11:29 to 11:48 p.m. EDT.
“We’re getting goose bumps right now. We’re very excited,” said Harry Brown, the GPS 2F program’s chief engineer at satellite-builder Boeing.
“There is a pride in working GPS, there is a pride in what we do for the nation and we know this is a national asset.”
Circling 11,000 miles overhead, the network of GPS satellites emit continuous navigation signals that allow users to find their precise position in latitude, longitude and altitude and determine time. Originally built as a tool for the U.S. military, the utility has spread across the world as an indispensable commercial service.
Some 60 satellites have been launched for the system over the past three decades, and now the Air Force is poised to deploy the initial satellite in the Block 2F series that features even higher accuracy, enhanced internal clocks, longer life and reprogrammable onboard processors to evolve with future needs.
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