BLASTOFF! Atlas V Successfully Launched From Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
By Space Coast Daily // July 15, 2015
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION – An Atlas V 401 rocket with a GPS satellite on board successfully blasted off right on time from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Wednesday.
The 18-minute launch window opened at 11:36 a.m. EDT.
GPS IIF-10 marks the 55th Atlas V launch since the vehicle’s inaugural launch in 2002 and the 27th flight of the 401 configuration. Every operational GPS mission has launched on a ULA or heritage rocket.
The Navstar Global Positioning System is a constellation of satellites that provides navigation data to military and civilian users worldwide.
The system is operated and controlled by the 50th Space Wing, located at Schriever Air Force Base, CO.
GPS utilizes 24 satellites, in six different planes, with a minimum of four satellites per plane, positioned in orbit approximately 11,000 nautical miles above the Earth’s surface.
The satellites continuously transmit digital radio signals pertaining to the exact time (using atomic clocks) and exact location of the satellites.
LAUNCH NOTES
• Rocket/Payload: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 will launch the GPS IIF-10 mission for the U.S. Air Force.
• Date/Site/Launch Time: Wednesday, July 15, from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 18-minute launch window opens at 11:36 a.m. EDT.
• Mission Description: GPS satellites serve and protect our warfighters by providing navigational assistance for U.S. military operations on land, at sea, and in the air. Civilian users around the world also use and depend on GPS for highly accurate time, location, and velocity information.
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ABOVE LIVE STREAM: An Atlas V 401 rocket with a GPS satellite on board successfully blasted off right on time from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Wednesday.
