U.S. Space Force GPS III SV04 Satellite to Launch Friday Night, Oct. 2
The fourth Lockheed Martin-built GPS III Space Vehicle 04 (GPS III SV04) is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
GPS III satellites were designed to modernize the current GPS constellation with new technology and advanced capabilities. GPS III provides 3x greater accuracy and up to 8x improved anti-jamming power over satellites in the current constellation. GPS III also adds a new L1C Civil signal compatible with Europe’s Galileo global navigation satellite system.
As the GPS satellite constellation’s modernization continues, after adding GPS III SV04, the four GPS III satellites on orbit will represent about 12 percent of the 31 satellites in the GPS constellation.
GPS III SV04, will be the 23rd M-Code enabled satellite in the constellation -- just one short now of the 24 needed for global coverage. M-code is a more-secure, harder-to-jam or spoof signal – and is invaluable to U.S. and allied military forces.
The next satellite – GPS III SV05 – is done and was declared “Available for Launch” in May 2020 by the Space Force. The satellite is now waiting to be called up for a launch date in 2021.
At Lockheed Martin’s Denver facility, five more GPS III satellites are in production, three of which are fully assembled and in testing. In July the Space Force declared that the GPS III Follow On (GPS IIIF) program had fulfilled “Milestone C, which means we have entered the production phase of the program. Up to 22 more GPS IIIF satellites could be built adding even more advanced capabilities.
Continued investment in GPS is important. Besides the military applications, the U.S. economic benefit of GPS is estimated to be over $300 Billion per year and $1.4 Trillion since inception.
