GPS – Page 4 – Spaceflight Now

GPS satellite installed atop Delta 4 launcher

August 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force’s next GPS navigation satellite met its ride into space this week with the spacecraft’s bolting on top of a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket at Cape Canaveral in preparation for liftoff Aug. 22.

Delta 4 launch delayed as ULA probes supplier concern

July 17, 2019 Stephen Clark

Concerns over an unspecified part flying on the upper stages of United Launch Alliance’s rockets have delayed the launch of a GPS satellite on a Delta 4 booster from July 25 to no earlier than Aug. 22. The same issue has also delayed an Atlas 5 launch.

Air Force releases new target dates for upcoming military launches

September 7, 2018 Stephen Clark

Managers have pushed back the next flight of United Launch Alliance’s Delta 4-Heavy rocket from a launch pad in California until no sooner than early December, and the first launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy for the U.S. Air Force has likely been delayed to some time early next year, officials said this week.

U.S. Air Force divides new launch contracts between SpaceX, ULA

March 20, 2018 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have split up to $645 million in new contracts to deploy U.S. Air Force navigation and surveillance satellites into orbit from 2019 through 2021.

SpaceX nabs GPS launch contract as Air Force opens more missions for bidding

March 18, 2017 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force this week awarded SpaceX a contract to launch a Global Positioning System satellite in early 2019, concluding the second of as many as 15 competitions the military plans to run over the next year to pit SpaceX against United Launch Alliance for rights to lift defense and intelligence-gathering payloads into orbit.

Falcon 9 rocket wins landmark U.S. Air Force launch contract

April 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch a third-generation GPS navigation satellite for the U.S. military in 2018, the Air Force said Wednesday, breaking a monopoly held by United Launch Alliance since its formation nearly a decade ago.

Pentagon opens investigation into contracts with ULA

March 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Defense Department’s internal watchdog has opened a probe into whether the Pentagon’s contracts with United Launch Alliance were properly awarded after a former ULA executive implied the government rigged a recent procurement in favor of the company.

ULA sits out Air Force launch competition

November 16, 2015 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance said Monday it did not submit a proposal in a competition to launch a U.S. Air Force GPS navigation satellite, apparently relinquishing the contract to rival SpaceX, the only other company certified to launch the mission.

Air Force stays the course with SpaceX rocket certification

July 2, 2015 Stephen Clark

Sunday’s Falcon 9 rocket failure may have blemished SpaceX’s success record, but the mishap will not keep the entrepreneurial space company from competing for U.S. military launch contracts with rival United Launch Alliance, according to an Air Force general.

ULA, SpaceX face off in landmark Air Force launch competition

May 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Air Force has identified the launch of a next-generation GPS navigation satellite for the first in a series of competitive rocket procurements between United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, service officials announced Wednesday.