Air Force ground controllers have activated service aboard the newest Global Positioning System satellite, achieving that milestone for the final spacecraft in a dozen built in a manufacturing batch to update the constellation.
Signs that a launch to the International Space Station is approaching are obvious this week at Cape Canaveral, with the Atlas 5 booster rocket beginning to take shape and the commercial resupply ship heading to its propellant depot.
The Orbital ATK commercial Cygnus resupply vessel departed the International Space Station on Friday after 72 days spent at the outpost, delivering more than 7,000 pounds of cargo and taking away 3,000 pounds of trash.
Disconnected from the International Space Station berthing port and then cast free by the robotic arm, the commercial Cygnus cargo craft flew away Friday after successfully restarting U.S. resupply service to the outpost.
The main engine rumbling to life. Ice shards breaking free. The rocket lumbering off the pad. The battle against gravity being won once again. That was the scene as the Atlas 5 took flight to cap a generation of Global Positioning System satellites.
A collection of pad photos from the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket flight to deploy the GPS 2F-12 satellite for use by the U.S. military and billions of civilians around the world.
A replay of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket launching the Global Positioning System 2F-12 satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida, completing 27 years and 61 flights of the GPS 2 generation.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:38 a.m. EST (1338 GMT) Friday to place the Global Positioning System 2F-12 navigation satellite into space. Follow the mission in our live journal.
The Atlas 5 rocket emerges from the Vertical Integration Facility for rollout to Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral in preparation to launch GPS 2F-12 satellite on Friday at 8:38 a.m. EST.