EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Nov. 5 for new launch attempt.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 5 carrying the U.S. Air Force’s next GPS 3-series navigation satellite destined for an orbit more than 12,000 miles above Earth.
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is poised for launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:24 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 5, at the opening of a 15-minute launch window.
The Lockheed Martin-built GPS 3 SV04 satellite mounted atop the rocket is the fourth member of an upgraded generation of GPS navigation spacecraft, featuring higher-power signals that are more resilient to jamming, and additional broadcast frequencies to make the GPS network more interoperable with other navigation satellite fleets.
The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon 9 flight with the GPS 3 SV04 spacecraft.
An upgraded Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying more fuel and standing taller than earlier GSLV variants took off Wednesday from an Indian spaceport and delivered a new communications satellite to orbit for the Indian Air Force.
A Chinese Long March 2D rocket launched Venezuela’s second Earth-observing surveillance satellite Monday, adding a new space-based reconnaissance asset the country’s government says it will use to aid security forces, emergency responders, farmers, and health professionals.
Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule flew into the wrong orbit soon after lifting off from Cape Canaveral on an unpiloted demonstration flight Friday morning, burning too much fuel and precluding the new commercial spaceship from docking with the International Space Station. Mission managers say the capsule will target an early landing in New Mexico Sunday.